Story Of A Girl
by nayru moon
Summary: Rae's gotten her farm going good, with the drama and hijinks they get themselves into! 20 chapters can't go wrong! CHAPTER 20: What has Rae's father done now?
1. The Will! No Need For Boys!

The Story Of a Girl  
  
Nayru: Welcome back, yo!  
Xiao: And welcome to the continuation of 'Lost and Found"! If you don't know, I'm her  
muse. Say my name wrong, I scratch you.  
Nayru: Let's skip the intro, get to the story.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but a half-cat muse and some really cute PJs.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 1: The Will and A Friend  
  
Time: 5 am. Rae is fast asleep.  
  
Our young hero is sleeping in her little cottage. A small kitchen, containing basic   
supplies for simple cooking, a toilet and shower, and a television make up the little house.   
Dix, the farm puppy, clacks up to his owner and licks her face. Rae pushes the dog away   
and looks at her clock. She snaps up. "Oh snap! I'm late!"  
After pulling on her jeans, a white shirt and a blue bandanna, Rae rushes outside   
to meet the Mayor. He smiled to see the ambitious young girl on time to meet him. She gasped for  
breath. "Sorry... sir... alarm... broke..."  
"No problem, Rae. Your grandfather had the same problem, my father told me.   
Now then, about the will he left. He, of course, left you the farm and what's on it, but  
about his money. The man was poor by this age. He had 1,200 gold left after hospital  
bills, medicine, taxes, etc., etc..."  
"So I have 1,200 gold to start the farm back up?"  
"No. He left 3/4 of it to Karen in the city. It's been sent to her. I'm sorry, Rae, but   
he still loves her, even in death. You have 300 gold to start the farm."  
Rae's heart sank like a stone. Only 300! That was barely enough for one bag of  
seed! The farm was a wreck, she had no money of her own, no seeds, and not even half  
of her grandfather's money. Great. Situation: hopeless.  
The Mayor left Rae in silence. Barely seconds later, a man a year older than her walked   
in, swearing. "Oh snap, snap, SNAP! This is dog puke! This is serious dog puke!" He ran right   
into Rae. She shoved him down, not very happy.  
"Okay, what are you doing on my farm?" She raised an eyebrow. "It's 5:30 in the  
morning. You are screaming at the top of your freaking lungs. I have had no breakfast.   
Are you trying to piss me off?"  
He looked up. "Who the hell are you?"  
Rae had never been into town. She knew almost nobody but the doctor. This kid was kinda   
cute... "My name is Rae. I run this place. My grandfather gave it to me. Who   
are you?"  
"My name is Cliff Jr. My dad reckoned it was cute." He rolled his eyes. "I look  
like him. Anyway, our families were close. I guess it's good to meet you. Now, why I'm  
here..."  
"I'm out of work, dirt poor, homeless, my parents are in a different country, and   
pretty damned pissed off at the damned InnKeeper. Can't give me a room, god damn  
you..."  
"I have an idea. I could use some help here. Free food, no pay yet, but a place to stay!"  
Rae smiled. He smiled back.  
"Food? And pay in the future? Damn, girl, count me in!" His eyes brightened. "Are you new  
in town?"  
"Sort of. I've lived here a while, but never been to town. Show me around?" She glomped   
his arm before he could answer. He went bright red. "Great! Let's go!" Only now did she notice   
the sweet musk around him. "Ooh, a strong man. I like a strong guy."  
"Ah... ah... ah..." He was redder than an apple. He laughed nervously, and lead her   
around everywhere. She knew now she had a friend for life. He knew he wanted a little more than  
a friend. Not yet, no he would wait. He smiled evilly as he looked at the beautiful redhead next  
to him, not knowing she felt the same way.   
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Next Chapter!  
  
Nayru: Cliff gets buuuuuuuuuuuurned by the InnKeeper's daughter!  
Xiao: Rae plants first seeds! But which ones?  
Nayru: Cabbage?  
Xiao: Or love!?  
Together: FIND OUT NEXT TIME ON... STORY OF A GIRL!  
Nayru: How do you turn this damn camera off? Oh wait, here's the but-   
  



	2. Competition Arrives! No need For Love!

The Story Of A Girl  
  
Nayru: Welcome back yo!  
Xiao: To chapter two of our little ficcy!  
Nayru: Let's skip the intro and get straight to the story!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I don't own this. I own a copy of it and use it to my advantage.  
So I'll ask the lawyers to leave me alone now.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter Two  
Nihao! Competition Arrives! No Need for Love!  
  
Rae smiled at the shopkeeper. He smiled back. "You new in town, kid?" He asked.  
"No. I've just been busy, so I really never got time to know anyone here." She politely   
introduced herself. Cliff groaned. He hated this guy... "Have you met Cliff?"  
Cliff groaned, knowing what came next. The shopkeeper stared at Cliff. The 2 boys were   
the same age, believe it or not. "Clifford... Yes I've seen you before." He  
smiled at Cliff evilly. "You cheated me out of that horse. You know it!"   
"What horse!? CLIFF!" Rae turned to him in shock. Cliff ignored her.  
"I won Cliffy fair and square. My dad left him to me, anyway, not you, Silas."  
He turned to Rae, and told her, "Silas is a real cheat. He messes with all the girls, leaves  
them crying, never gives them a thought. We had a bet on the horse my dad left to me,   
and he still thinks he won!"   
"You know I won." Silas smirked.   
"Cliff, you can't tell me everything. I can get to know him myself." Rae groaned.  
Silas patted her arm. "Come Cliff, how about a little re-challenge for that horse of  
yours. A planting contest. Let's say... hmmm, each of us will take a hoe and a bag of cabbage   
seeds. Whosoever gets them all planted first wins. I win, I get the horse. You win, hmmm..."  
"I win, you don't break Rae's heart."   
Rae blushed. She had just met them and they were fighting over her! What sort of  
people were they! "The seeds better be free. I can't afford them.", she sighed.  
Rae stepped outside, holding her head. What a nightmare... She held her throbbing head in  
her hands, when she felt a tap on the shoulder. She looked up, and saw a young man offering   
her a glass of water. "You look like you need this." She drank it gratefully. "My name is   
(AN: Who else could it be?) Kai. I know you. You're that farm girl." They shared   
  
Meanwhile...  
  
Cliff walked to the Inn, wondering if Rae was there. The young Inn Girl smirked   
at him. "Back again, horse boy. Want a room now? Too bad we're full up, huh." She simpered.   
"I'm looking for my friend. Paws off, Ann. I don't love you anymore."  
  
The contest was that afternoon. Kai stood at the side with his new friend, Rae,   
watching it all go down. Half the town was there for Silas, and so few for Cliff. Only the   
policeman Harris, the Mayor, Kai, Gray, who worked at the Blacksmith's, the Doctor's son Andy   
(AN: Dick is his last name, LOL) and Rae, of course. Silas was definitely a popular one. The   
women all loved him, it seemed. Almost all the men respected him, and he was rich, for that   
matter. One problem: Rae didn't like him.   
Cliff sweated, as he carefully counted out squares, into a perfect bucket. Silas  
rushed through it, but continually messed up his square. Cliff was the first to get his seeds   
down, and watered each one. "I beat you this time Silas! Fair and Square! The entire town   
watching! Beat that!"  
Every face was shocked. (Muse's Note: Wow! I can't believe he did it! AN: Shut it, muse.)  
Silas was silent. He went up to Cliff- and began beating him up! Yells of anger arose from the   
crowd, as Cliff fell to the ground. Silas walked off. Kai and Harris picked Cliff up, and carried  
him out. Rae could only stare, wondering what would happen to him.  
  
Five days later...  
  
Rae pushed her bandanna up her head again. The two patches of cabbage half-grown, and Kai  
comforting her everyday, but was it enough? Now she did have a problem. Two boys following her   
around all the time... Would they fight with one another? Would Cliff object to Kai staying   
around her too? Rae watched Kai finish his work weeding. He softly patted her shoulder. "I'd best  
get back to the Inn. See you around, Rae." He walked out.  
Cliff had made a hard long recovery, but was finally okay. He came into the farm, still  
wearing a bandage. Rae looked up at him, and smiled. Guess what happened next? Yep, they   
KISSED!   
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Duo: (AN: How did he get here? Disclaimer2: I don't own him either!) Next time on The   
Story Of A Girl!  
Nayru: (zaps Duo back to colony L2) We close the plot holes, and then Cliff's past comes  
out!  
Xiao: Rae goes on a date! But with who?  
Sailor Moon: (Disclaimer3: NO, she ain't mine! Don't sue!) Will it be the noble, tough,   
helpful Cliff?  
Nayru: (rids herself of the cursed anime character) Or the kindly, caring, gentle hearted  
Kai?  
Chichiri: (Disclaimer4: I love anime crossovers, but he isn't mine either! Leave me   
alone!) Find out next time, no da!  
Nayru: (closes the wretched plot holes) If only I hadn't spilled my crossover powder...  
Xiao: You WHAT!!!???  
Nayru: Peaceout with the pitying authors, y'all!  
Xiao: Review! And someone clean up that damned crossover powd- (camera off)  
  



	3. The War of True Hearts! No need for a Lo...

The Story Of A Girl  
  
  
Nayru: (talking on phone) I understand, Seda-sama. Oh, of course, sir, I understand! Yes, sir,   
immediately, sir! (hangs up phone) Sweet lord...   
Xiao: What was that all about?  
Nayru: They need you on a mission. I have to baby-sit your little sister, Ran-Ran, for a  
week. You better get packing. As soon as we close some business with several authors you owe,   
in case you don't return...   
Xiao: Yes'm. Let me just put in a disclaimer.   
  
DISCLAIMER: All I own is a copy of Harvest Moon, and a muse, sometimes...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 3  
The War of True Hearts! No need for a Lover!  
  
It has been half a season since Rae arrived in Rose Village. She is acquainted with most  
of the townspeople. She's even doing well in money! There's only one problem: Boys! Six all on  
her trail! And now she has to make a choice that could affect her life forever.  
"Rae!" The Mayor was at her gate, and looking overjoyed. "I have excellent news!"  
She brushed her moppy blonde hair out of her eyes. "Yeah, Mayor?"  
"You've been selected! As this year's Flower Goddess!" He smiled. Rae shrugged.  
"Meaning?" Cliff came in at that moment. He hid, upon hearing what was happening.   
"Meaning you dance with the King, if you like, but really, it means you wear a special   
gown and everyone admires you! Sound fun or what?"   
Cliff sighed with sadness. "Oh Rae, if only you knew..." He had danced with the Goddess   
once before. It had only led to heartbreak.   
  
An hour later, the Mayor went to speak to Cliff. "You know, you can't keep hiding from   
her forever, I want you to tell her tonight." Cliff looked at the shorter man.   
"What if she doesn't trust me after I tell her, and I'm left alone again? What if she   
forces me out? I'll have nowhere to go. I'll have to leave!"  
"What is best for her. That is what you must focus on, Cliff. Not you. Now go to her."  
Rae looked up as Cliff walked in. "Heya, Cliffy." She noiced the down look on his face.  
"What happened? That Ann girl bugging you again?"   
"No. I need to talk to you."  
  
``````````````````````````````````````Cliff's past'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''  
  
Cliff had been raised by his dad on the ranch. His mother had left when he was very   
little. His father had then died of cancer when Cliff was eight. But that wasn't the worst part.  
At the age of fifteen, Cliff had fallen in love with Ann. She won as the Goddess, and   
wanted to dance with her very badly. He did, but then...  
He was forced out of the village, upon finding Ann no longer loved him. He had lived the  
life of a criminal, and was hiding from the authorities.  
`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````  
  
Rae gasped as he finished his tale of lost love, and sadness. "But, Cliff, why didn't you  
tell me before?"  
"I couldn't bear to se our relationship ruined before it even started. I know that it's   
over now. Rae... goodbye!" He ran out.  
  
"Oh, Rae, you can't be thinking of just moping in here the entire festival!" Mary cried.  
"They need a Goddess, you're the one they picked." Karen stated. "Hell, I even voted for  
you, since we can't vote for ourselves."  
Popuri sympathized with Rae. "Rae, it's okay. There are many other men there. Just   
because the one you wanted to dance with isn't there, doesn't mean no others want to dance with  
you."   
Ann... Ann didn't care about Rae. "I'll take her place!"   
The other girls glared at her. "NO!"  
Rae kept on crying. "I'll go out there, but I can't be happy dancing with that old man. I  
suppose... I suppose he did what he had to do. I can forgive him for that." The girls walked out.  
To Rae's surprise, the man waiting to dance with her was...!  
"CLIFF!" She ran up and hugged him right around the neck. He smiled at her.   
"Didn't I mention I couldn't stay away from you for long? I'll always come back!"  
"Promise?"   
"Promise." And the couples began to dance.  
  
After a long night of dancing, partying, and drinking, Cliff took his lady to the   
mountaintop. He took out two bottles, and some cakes. "To my greatest existing friend, Rae. May  
you live long, and prosper!" They drank.  
Rae looked at the handsome man before her. "This wouldn't be a date, would it?"  
"I suppose it would." He smiled, and they kissed. AGAIN.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Xiao: I hope they'll let me come back. I was almost used to your insanity, and your   
friends, and your evil twin brother who always steals the TV!  
Nayru: I was almost used to your tail.  
Xiao: I guess this might be our last preview together? Next chapter, Nayru will try to  
cope without a properly trained muse!  
Nayru: Silas will make a comeback!  
Xiao: Rae's first animal!  
Nayru: And Kai has a talk with Cliff!  
Ran-Ran: And we finally have a talk with Rae!  
Nayru and Xiao: *groan*  
Ran-Ran: See ya next time! Peace with the little kitties, everyone!   
  



	4. Silas' EVIL Cabbage! No need for an Alli...

Story Of A Girl  
  
Ran-Ran: So, Xiao back tomorrow?  
Nayru: Yup.  
Ran-Ran: Happy?  
Nayru: Yup.  
Ran-Ran: Gonna do this chapter of Story of a Girl with me?  
Nayru: Yup.  
  
DISCLAIMER: It ain't mine. So don't sue me. If it's crappy... sue my muse.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Silas' Evil Cabbage! No need for an Alliance!  
  
Rae smiled cheerfully at the big full field. Cliff groaned at the sight of more than 20  
cabbage. "We've got a big day here, don't we, Cliffy?" She noticed the down look on his face.   
"What's the deal, orange peel(1)?  
"... cabbage... evil, evil, evil, cabbage..." He looked stunned. "Why do *I* have to help  
with the harveeeest???" He began whining.  
She playfully pinched his cheek. "Wanna know whyyyyy?" He nodded. She kissed him on the   
forehead. "Cause I said so."  
The two began pulling at the cabbage roots, taking them up one by one. Cliff smelled one,  
and wrinkled his nose. "You sure these are okay? They smell... they smell like... well, they   
definitly DON'T smell like cabbage! Ugh! Man, did you do something wrong, or are the first spring   
cabbages supposed to smell this way?" Rae ignored the talkative boy.   
"Cliff, it's probably just because the soil isn't great yet. It's been at rest for a   
year. Really, me doing something wrong? Come on! I've helped Grandpa for 15 years with them, and  
me messing up! Let's see if they taste as good as Grandpa's when we're done!"  
Cliff sighed resignedly, knowing he couldn't refuse her.  
"Mmmmm! They're delicious!" He smiled, forgetting the way he had acted when picking them.  
It was lunchtime, and both young people were somehow starved.   
Rae smiled brightly. "They're better than Grandpa's. I wonder... maybe Silas put   
something in them to make them better for me?" She shrugged, and ate another one.  
  
Two hours later, 3:00...  
  
"Oooh!" Rae groaned and leant over onto her knees. She coughed, and hurled. Kai, who had  
been on the other side of the field, instantly ran over. He skidded to a stop to avoid falling in  
the terrible mess.  
"Rae! Rae!" She continued to vomit. "Oh shit... I'm getting the doctor!"  
Silas watched Kai run out, and went over to Rae. "Think I'll give up that easily, do you?  
Why would I give you stuff for free? You're mine now." He picked her up, and ran out of the farm.  
"Are you sure she was here?" Harris raised an eye at the trembling Kai.   
"YES! The cabbage... someone poisoned it... she got sick! See, she puked right there!  
He pointed at the terrible green mess. Harris examined it.   
"After this sort of illness, the poor girl would probably be rendered immobile. She   
didn't just walk away. This may be a kidnapping."  
"Uhm, what does "rendered immobile" mean?" Kai gasped.  
"She wouldn't have been able to move. I need to examine those cabbages picked this   
morning. I suppose that Silas was at his old tricks again... I assure you, justice will be   
served. We'll be sure that all damge done will be paid for. The cabbages, if they've been   
tampered with, will be replaced. She'll be paid in full. Thanks for your cooperation."  
Kai sighed, as he watched Harris walk away. He noticed a tear in the corner of his eye.  
"I liked Rae very much too, Kai. I only can pray that she's alright."  
Kai noticed Cliff crying out on the porch. He went over to the tall boy. "I... can't...  
cry.... Mommy always told me real men never cry... (2)" He sniffed even harder. and blew his nose  
into one of Rae's bandannas. "Kai, what did he say?"  
"He said that he'd try to find her. He felt sorry for her. Silas... But there's something  
else we need to talk about."  
"Sure. What's the deal, orange peel?" Cliff smiled at Rae's joke.  
"It's Rae. It's definite which boys she wants: You and I. Harris, Gray, Silas, Jeff...  
We are her top choices! We're the ones she depends on. And I failed her today. Cliff, it's gonna  
be one of us if it'll be any of us. We have to be the ones to shield her from the darkest of her  
days... and nights. Can you promise me that you'll be good to her if you're the one?"  
Cliff looked at Kai, and murmured something only the two men heard. " I can do it."  
"Hey, Cliff, Kai." Mr. Green stood at the farm threshold. "I have a present for Rae, for  
when she gets back. I liked the girl. Talkative, bright, and friendly. Always came by for visits,  
and even could forgive Ann for her cruelty towards her. The storeowners all pitched in, and   
bought this." A baby cow was by his side. "Basil is being kind enough to give you grass until  
you've grown your own, and Silas' father bought a brush. He repents for his son's actions."  
Cliff petted the cow. "What will we name you? I know... we'll name you Koibito(3)."  
"I really hope Rae is okay. I know that Silas will lose his job for this." Mr. Green left  
the two boys in peace.  
  
TBC...  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Nayru: Wow, Ranko, better than I expected!  
Ran-Ran: It gets better.   
Nayru: It does?  
Ran-Ran: Sure does! I took the reality vial and animated Rae! We can actually interview her!  
Nayru: AWESOME! Let's do it!  
*FLASH*  
Rae: What the hell? Who are you? Why do you look like Mini-Me?  
Nayru: Lemme guess, Where are you and When did this happen?  
Rae: Yeah, and where's Cliff?  
Ran-Ran: We brought you here from Mineral Town!  
Nayru: We didn't want this to turn into Jerry Springer, so we left Cliff behind.  
Ran-Ran: Your appearance was based off Nayru's, and we just brought you here.  
Nayru: You are currently in the Crixa, the central point of ideas.  
Rae: Shaddup! So, what do you wanna ask me, kid? *sits down*  
Nayru: First of all, who is your opinion of Silas?  
Rae: Hmm... Silas... uhm, I can describe him in two words. What is this rated?  
Nayru: PG.   
Rae: Shit... uhm, can I cuss?  
Nayru: Keep it down, or I'll have to change the rating.  
Rae: Fine. He's a ****head.  
Nayru & Ran-Ran: *flinch*  
Nayru: I take it you don't like him?  
Rae: No! He's an awesome rival! But will you ever let me kick the shit out of him?  
Nayru: Maybe next chapter. I don't know how I'm gonna get you out of this one.  
Rae: Great. Just greeeeaaaaaat...   
Nayru: Would you like to remain a virgin from alcohol, or would you like to try in a chapter or   
two?  
Rae: Alcohol? Well, maybe. I'm 20, right, authoress person?  
Ran-Ran: Yup.  
Rae: Yeah, chapter or two.   
Nayru: Hm, now then, marriage and children... what are your opinions on that?  
Rae: I dunno. I say we let the audience pick who I get!  
Ran-Ran: How did you know about the audience?  
Rae: I dunno. It says on that card over there.  
Phillip: Heh heh heh...  
Nayru, Rae, and Ran-Ran: CURSED BROTHER!  
Nayru: It is a good idea. Let's try that. Every one, you are the matchmakers now! Now then, my  
faithful matchmakers, make Rae a match, catch her a catch, do as in what the song says. But  
first, I will explain my (number) things.  
  
1-I made this up myself! Mwahahahaha! I love oranges!  
  
2-AAAAAAAGH! Gundam Wing reference! Quote from Duo Maxwell, okay, anime loverz?  
  
Ran-Ran: Oh, Nayru, will I ever get to visit you again?  
Nayru: It's actually been fun with you here, Ranko. You helped me do what I had to do. Come back  
anytime!  
Ran-Ran: Can I just stay?  
Nayru: Uhhhh... *faints*  
Ran-Ran: Great! Okay everyone, let's not wait for Nayru to wake up. Reviewiness! And peaceout   
with the cute kitties, everyone!   
  
  
  



	5. Hiding Nun! No need for Death!

Story Of a Girl   
  
Xiao: Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!! I'm back I'm back I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!   
Nayru: Where were you, any way?   
Ran-Ran: Hero's reunion.   
Nayru: It figures... she runs off to a party for a week and I get NOTHING done.   
Xiao: You got chapter four of this fic.   
Nayru: That reminds me, we've gotta do chapter five! Disclaimer, Xiao!   
  
DISCLAIMER: It ain't mine! Lawyers be gone! IT IS NOT MINE!   
  
Nayru: Excellent, as always.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
Hiding Nun! No need for Death!   
  
"Dear lady... please, young lady... do open your eyes..." Rae's eyes fluttered open. She   
sat up holding her stomach.   
"Aw, I think I'm gonna hurl again!" She leant over and spewed whitish substance. The man   
held her shoulders. She coughed twice, and moved away from the mess. "Where the hell am I? Who   
the hell are you?"   
"You're in the church basement. A young man brought you here. He carried a gun... he   
forced me to go here, and guard you, so you wouldn't get out." She looked at the cross around the   
old man's neck.   
"You're the Pastor!" She exclaimed. "A man of the heavens! Sir, I am sorry for my   
language, I'm a good girl, I really am, I took communion as a child, and I help those in need...   
Father, can you forgive me?" She shook in the presence of the priest.   
"My child, you are forgiven. I don't blame you for your surprise. You're an honest,   
hardworking young lady. I've seen you on your farm, and meant to talk to you sooner. I don't want   
you to remain here in your illness. The man who works at your farm, name of 'Clifford', has   
fallen ill to the poison as well. He is in the hospital, as he has been so often." The elderly   
man seemed to shiver with every sentence. "You must go to him."   
"How, Father?" She listened to him, wide-eyed.   
"I have an idea..." He smirked, and hobbled over to an old closet. "Old Father Cartor   
used to run an little orphanage here. That's me." He added, at her odd look. "I have some old   
things you might like..."   
  
Cliff looked at the blank walls. No visitors. No flowers. Nobody. He was alone, and the   
office was closing. Just then, a nun entered the building. "May I visit, with a blessing for the   
patient?" Her voice was very soft. She wore a rusty silver cross, and carried a bottle.   
"Certainly, dear nun. He lies in wait for a companion."   
She walked over, her robes swishing. He nodded his head, acknowledging her. "What is your   
name?"   
She pulled off her hood slightly. "It's me, Cliff. Rae!"   
He sat up disbelievingly. "Rae... it is you! Why are you here?"   
"I had to see you. I can't stay long. Listen, as soon as you are well, this is my   
request: Go to the church everyday. Ask the minister. He'll explain everything." She walked out.   
  
"Father, forgive me for I feel I have sinned." It had been a day and Cliff was fine. Kai   
and Gray had tagged along on this heroic mission.   
"Tell me of your troubles, child." Old Father Cartor rasped.   
"I feel guilty, for I request too much of your services." He looked nervous. "I asked a   
nun if she would help me, and she did, but now I feel bad."   
"There are no nuns here." Father Cartor smiled to himself. "You must have been being   
haunted by the ghost of Sister Helen, who died a terrible death. You and your friends must come   
with me to the basement." The congregated worshippers looked up as the old man hobbled away.   
"Now then, boys." Father Cartor turned around. "I couldn't do this upstairs. Rae, come   
out." Rae stepped out of the shadows. Her cobalt eyes shone with tears, and she instantly dove on   
to Kai's chest.   
"I'm scared... he treats me so bad... he threatens to shoot me, and Mr. Cartor... you've   
gotta get me out of here..."   
Kai nervously patted her back. "It's okay, Rae, we'll get you out of here..."   
Gray gasped: something the stoic man never did. "Someone... somebody is right behind   
us... Cliff! Cartor! Run!" Gray hit the dirt, AS TWO SHOTS FIRED! A merciless Silas stood behind   
him, holding the gun!   
"Ooh..." Cartor moaned as he hit the ground, bleeding.   
"Father Cartor! NO!" Rae began sobbing over the elderly man's dying body. Silas dropped   
the gun, and marched towards Rae.   
"You will never escape me. I will take you away, far beyond what... oof!" Cliff jabbed   
Silas in the stomach!   
"Harris, now!" Kai yelled into a walkie-talkie. Cliff and Silas began to do battle with   
one another. Rae jumped into the spar as well. Cliff found himself thrown out on his butt, and   
Rae socking Silas in the jaw!   
"This is for what you did to me!" She hit him in the stomach. "This is for Cliff!" She   
hit him upside the head. "And this," She panted, looking at the figure before her, bleeding   
pitiful man before her, and wiped a trickle of blood off her lip. "This is for Mr. Cartor!"   
"Oooooh!!!!!!!" (Note: I cut out exactly what she did, because it was too explicitly   
violent. You should know, anyway.)   
"You have the right to remain silent. You will not be granted a trial. You have been   
convicted for the kidnapping of this here young lady and the murder of Gershom Cartor..." Rae   
sniffled as Pastor Cartor was carried out- dead.   
  
Cliff and Gray were sad and silent, watching the poor lonely girl go to the grave of the   
man she had barely known: every day. She had ignored her work, and left it to Cliff. People felt   
bad for her, knowing how much of a loss it was for her.   
"Hey, why the long face?" Rae looked up. A cheerful young man with long hair in a braid,   
wearing a priest's outfit was hovering over her. "I'm Duo Maxwell, now Priest Maxwell. You can   
call me... Duo!" He seemed very relaxed. Cliff clenched his fist. This guy was trying to steal   
Rae!   
"Duo!" A woman (!) stepped out of the church. "Duo, what are you doing out here? It's 7   
in the morning." She smiled at him. "Come inside."   
"Oh, Hilde, this is the young farmer girl. The one we've been buying from. This is my   
wife, Hilde."   
"A pleasure to meet you." Rae bowed.   
"Now listen. Don't dwell on things past. What's done is done. Silas is in jail; you have   
a business to run. Go to your work, in the name, not of God, but of love." He paused, his cobalt   
blue eyes flaming with pleasure. "But I'll come and visit you, you come and visit me. We'll be   
friends. Goodbye!" He walked off.   
Rae watched him go. "Thank you." Cliff grabbed her arm, and she shrieked.   
"Come on, you! You've got grass to weed, and a cow to feed!" She laughed. "That rhymed.   
But, Rae~~ you've got work. Let's go home."   
  
TBC...   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   
  
Ran-Ran: (sniffle) YOU KILLED PASTOR CARTOR!   
Xiao: What did he ever do to you?   
Nayru: Nothing. It was a good twist. And oddly, Silas was just kicked off Survivor! Now   
then: The boyfriend stats! We have... two votes, one from a review, and one from my buddy, Elli.   
  
Cliff: 2   
Kai: 0   
Gray: 0   
Harris: 0   
Jeff: 0   
Silas: eliminated   
  
And next time!   
Ran-Ran: The Mid-wife pays a visit to Rae!   
Xiao: What will she do there?   
Nayru: Kai meets Karen!   
Xiao: What will happen then?   
Ran-Ran: Two guys give up the chase of a certain farmer girl!   
Xiao: Are there more girls, or are they leaving a pathway open to Cliff and Kai?   
Nayru: Last but not least, Rae goes to le bar!   
Xiao and Ran-Ran: What will she do there!!!   
Together: Find out next time on...   
Koibito The Cow: MOO!   
Nayru: ... uh, no, not MOO, Koibito   
Cliff and Kai: Story of our Girlfriend?   
Xiao: NO YOU IDIOTS!   
Ran-Ran: STORY OF A GIRL! 


	6. MidWife knows best! No need for extra Bo...

Story of A Girl  
  
Chapter 6  
  
Nayru: (playing Harvest Moon) La, la, la, la, la! La, la, la-la!   
Xiao: No, no! Don't give her the fish! She hates fish!   
Ran-Ran: (sigh) Sorry about these two. They're always playing that game in search of new ideas.   
(yells) And I'm just a stupid kitten who doesn't know what I'm talking about! Anyway... I'll just  
put up a disclaimer.  
Nayru: SCREEEEEEEEEEEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
DISCLAIMER: (oh crap, I f***ed up again!) It's not mine! (How can you screw up on Harvest Moon!)   
We own the game, Rae is ours, but if you ask us, you can use her!   
(Yeah! You got a green heart!) Harvest Moon is not a registered trademark of Nayru Moon and her   
muses!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Midwife Knows Best! No need for extra Boyfriends!  
  
(Aka A little Lovin! No Need for PMS! part 1)  
  
Rae pulled up the last weed from the grass field. Koibito mooed, as Cliff brushed her.  
"Ha ha! No, Koibito!" He laughed and pushed her away, as she licked his face. "Stupid cow!"   
"Cows are actually rather smart, if you think about it, Cliffy." Rae looked at him.   
"They eat grass, which is nutrtious, they have a real purpose, and are rather obedient. Unlike   
you." He threw a handful of mud at her. They chased eachother around for ten minutes, laughing  
like little children. Suddenly, there came a stern voice from the threshold of the farm. The  
MidWife was standing there.   
"Rae, I'd like to talk to you and this boy. Separately." She added quickly, as Cliff's   
jaw dropped.  
Rae stood up, and shook a few dirt clods out of her hair. Cliff grunted, indicating she  
had screwed up already. The MidWife was intent on the women being tidy clean, and housewives, not  
the independent girl Rae was. "Well then, Miss, I'll just go fix up some tea." She lead the old   
woman inside.   
"Now Rae, if you didn't know, I was the woman to have delivered you, and most of your   
friends." The MidWife took a sip of her tea. "I know what's best for you." Rae held in a burst   
of laughter.   
"Do you now? Well then, what do you want to change about how I live?"  
"First of all, your dating choices. Cliff, he's strong, but he's a wanderer. If you two  
married, he'd never be at home. Kai is a total softie. Honestly, I don't think he's capable of   
producing a healthy child. Silas would be a better choice over those two, really- but he's not a  
nice man. Gray perhaps, but he's quiet. To tell the truth, all of these boys have their faults."  
"Ma'am, you act like I don't know that!" Rae laughed out loud. "Just because I choose to  
work with all of them at once doesn't make me uncomfortable." She paused. "I'm perfectly   
comfortable with it. They don't mind. I plan on eliminating Harris and the Doctor, because they  
don't do much for me."  
"That's good, but back to what I was sayng about Kai. 'Not capable of producing a   
healthy child.' You need to think about the life your child will live, when you have one. A man,  
no matter how good he is, can't take care of a child. You'll simply have to stop working when   
you get pregnant."   
"STOP WORKING!" Rae shouted. "I couldn't. I... I just won't have a child!" She crossed  
her arms impertinently.   
"No, you misunderstood. Just a temporary break, you'll be able to go back to work post-  
partum. We won't need to think about that yet. Just start narrowing down on your selection."   
She hissed under her breath. "Fine."  
  
Cliff came out of the house looking POed. "She said that if I were to be in any shape to   
marry any girl, I'd need to settle. Like that would happen. Come on, let's go have a few drinks.  
Your birthday is early sumer, two weeks? Close enough. Come on!"  
  
Rae's pyschedelic sapphire eyes glowed in the dim light. Harris was standing outside of  
the bar.  
"Rae, I know you're not twenty." He reprimanded her. "As long as you don't drink, you're   
alright. Be careful. That preist is one hell of a party animal."  
"Harris, stop watching out for me." She sighed, preparing to give him the slip.  
"I know what you're getting at. I understand." He smiled at her. "Popuri and I have   
become close friends in the two weeks since you got back." He winked. "Maybe, maybe not. Time  
will tell."   
Rae smiled with relief as she walked in. She slipped up to the Doctor- who was talking to  
Elli. "Takes care of that." She assumed. She then noticed her other main man- talking to...  
"Hi Karen!" She called. Rae's pretty best bud looked up.  
"Hey Rae!" She then whispered, "Don't worry, there is nothing here. I wouldn't dare."   
She winked. "You and I. We're a team. You get him, I get Cliff, and vice versa."   
"It's a deal, Karen." Karen shoved Rae a drink.   
"Go ahead, it's almost your birthday."  
  
A week passes quickly, with Summer weaving it's way into the lives of the inhabitants of  
Blossom Town. Rae's life get busier by the minute, with Cliff and Kai to tame, and five willing  
friends: Ann (ever since Silas' arrest) Popuri (because Rae bought from her seed store) Karen  
(because the two were so alike) Mary (for just hanging with her) and Elli (for keeping in good  
health). Elli and Ann had both become assistants on the farm. The girls were all busy, with the  
family businesses. Rae had both corn and tomatoes growing, and Koibito was ready for milking.  
Rae didn't have a Milker yet, but was working on it. Rae was looking over her farm, when she   
heard three mumbling voices inside Cliff's house. "How much you got, Kai?"  
"Two-thousand. I can put in five hundred."  
"Damn, still not enough. Gray?"   
"I'll put in all I've got. Three hundred."  
"Cliff, why don't you give some?"  
"I ain't got any! Doug?"  
"I'll put up with her, and put in three hundred also."  
"What's her grandpa got left?" Rae's eyes flashed. What did they want from him!   
"He's got all we could need. Plus, the dough we recieved from the city... that should do   
it!"  
Cliff looked at the other three men. "This will be the best birthday she'll ever have!"   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Nayru: What are those boys up to now!   
Xiao: What are they doing?  
Ran-Ran: What can they take from Rae's grandpa?   
Nayru: Who sent money from the city? And which boy will Rae marry now?  
  
(NOTE: The boy friend stats are as follows:  
  
Cliff: 2  
Kai: 1  
Gray: 0  
  
Keep voting!)  
  
Cliff: And will Silas just give my horse back already? Find out next time, on an   
romance-bound episode of   
  
STORY OF A GIRL!!!!!!!!!! 


	7. The Greatest Birthday EVER! No Need for ...

STORY OF A GIRL  
  
Ran-Ran: In three! Two! One- oh, wait, we're rolling!  
  
Nayru: Sorry about that long pause...  
  
Xiao: Lazy, lazy, Nayru...  
  
Nayru: Shut up...  
  
Ran-Ran: Be ready for a surprise bound episode, cause we got something special for all of our reader's holidays!  
  
DISCLAIMER: It's not mine. Rae is. Silas is. Duo and Hilde (priest and wife)... depends on whether you watch Gundam Wing or not.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The Greatest Birthday Ever! No need for a Liar!  
  
Cliff and the other three guys stepped out of the small house. Cliff said, "This is gonna be great! The first thing I've done r-" He found himself face to face with Rae- who didn't look happy.  
  
"What the hell d'you think you're trying to pull on me!" She grabbed the man (who was three inches taller than her) by the scruff of his dirty shirt, and held him six inches off the ground. "What the hell do you want from me! I've put up with you for a season and a half, and you're mooching my dead grandfather for something! What the hell do you want!"  
  
Cliff trembled under the harsh blonde's stare. "R-r-r-Rae, don't get upset... there's a problem... "  
  
Kai added, "We didn't want to tell you until it was all figured out..."  
  
Cliff continued, "There's a bug problem. We've worked it all out. We have infestation control on the way, along with soil cleaners. We pooled our money. There's a catch. First of all, we needed to use some of your grandfather's wood. Second..."  
  
"You can't be here while this is being carried out. It will take a week." Gray finished.  
  
"But fortunately, Doug is willingly putting up with you for a week!" Cliff added, while Doug nodded.  
  
"If you'd come along, and pack up. You need to be out of here by tomorrow. Your crops and cow will be taken care of!"  
  
Rae sighed, and put Cliff down. "But I'll be lonely!"  
  
"Sorry, Rae. I have to oversee everything. It's ok..."  
  
Of course, Rae moved into the Hotel that night.  
  
Six days later:  
  
"Happy birthday to me..." She sang quietly, washing her face. "Happy birthday to me..." she sang, while getting dressed. "Happy birthday dear me..." She sang, while fixing the strawberry blonde braid constantly tied to the back of her head. She stepped outside the hotel room, and...  
  
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" Half the town was gathered in the HUGE Inn Parlor! The five girls all were in front. "You're finally a real adult!" Karen said, ruffling the taller girl's hair.  
  
"Thanks for everyone coming here!" Rae squealed. "I've never had this many friends..."  
  
"We're all very grateful to you, Rae." The Mayor said cheerfully. "You've begun to bring us out of poverty. Your restoration on that farm is going excellently!" Zach thumped her on the back, almost knocking her face first.  
  
"You're a good kid." He smiled. "I know that the righteous girl you are, you don't want presents, but here." He handed her 2500 G. "Interest, on all the corn, tomatoes, and potatoes you've shipped in the last season or so."  
  
"And from me." Saibara stepped out. "That cow needs a milking. I made this." He handed over a milk machine. "Bottles it for you, and everything."  
  
"And from us..." Ann, Karen, Mary, Elli, and Popuri stepped out all crowding around- as a cameraman snapped a photograph. "We got you this!" They handed her a box. "Fresh, new clothes." Elli whispered. "Those overalls are terribly dirty!"  
  
Rae smiled. "You guys are the best."  
  
All day, everyone kept wishing her a happy birthday. She received discounts all day, at the bakery, at the general store, and even the food store-owner knew about her birthday. "Feliz cumplean~os, sen~orita!"(1) He called, as she walked away.  
  
"Que todo." (2) She mumbled back. She walked over to the entrance to her farm. Blocked off, with a large "DO NOT ENTER" sign on it. Sadly, she walked away. "Cliff hasn't even come to see me."  
  
That night, the bar was full. Everyone was celebrating. After half an hour of cavorting, dancing, and partying, Rae sat down, and took a drink of sake. She looked to the entrance.  
  
"Excuse me." An elderly woman was standing at the door.  
  
"This is a private place, ma'am. No tourists." Doug's voice floated in. Rae stood, and walked to the door. The old woman looked at her.  
  
"R-r-r-Rae?" She touched the young girl's face. "My granddaughter, Rae?"  
  
"Grandma?" The two hugged.  
  
"Listen, I can't stay long. I don't want to see you totally wasted, like your grandfather could get. I wanted to wish the granddaughter I've never met a happy 21^st birthday." She handed Rae a small package. "I also sent some money to your boyfriend."  
  
She winked.  
  
"Thanks..." Grandma walked away, waving.  
  
"Some party, eh?" Duo said. " I feel like I'm 15 again!" The guy drained a large cold one. "One thing to remember- advice from the father, ya know- Drink and be merry while you're young. In heaven there is no beer. Drink yours here." Hilde dragged him out, ranting about corrupting children's minds.  
  
Of course Rae pondered her choices, and of course, we all know what Rae did next...  
  
"YO! Barkeep! I'll take a cold one!" Duke slid her an ice-cold beer. "Thanks, man."  
  
"Rae, you think you can handle that?" Karen asked, as Rae chugged it down, nodding. "Can you drink me down?" Rae nodded again, wiping her lips.  
  
Karen sat down, and called to Duke. "Two city style shots, just to start us up!"  
  
Rae and Karen lifted their glasses. "To lying, stealing, cheating, and drinking! Lie to save a friend, steal your lover's heart, cheat death, and drink with us, dear friend!" They said the old cheer together, and downed the glasses.  
  
Rae smiled happily, and queried, "You done yet?"  
  
"Just starting up."  
  
And the rest is history our cameras couldn't reach.  
  
The next morning...  
  
"God damn... where the hell am I?" Rae yawned. Cliff walked in, smiling.  
  
"Morning, baby doll!" He said cheerfully. "What, you expected me to leave you drunk on the bar floor? I was embarrassed when Doug called me to drag you home!" He waved the knife in his hands at her. "I'm sorry I wasn't around yesterday..."  
  
"It's alright, dude. Thanks for dragging me outta that." She stood, and looked around. "What the-!"  
  
Her entire house was beautifully modeled. The kitchen had been extended, and the dining table was for four. And there was a second bed- right next to hers. "Happy birthday, Rae." He smiled.  
  
"Cliff! When did you- oh gosh..." She looked at the room again. "This must have cost a fortune!"  
  
"Like I said- we pooled our money, used grandpa's wood, and had to get rid of you during construction." He smiled sheepishly.  
  
"You bad little liar..." She tugged his ponytail. "But I like it."  
  
"I hate to interrupt, but I have something for you." Hilde was standing by the gate. A brown horse was next to her.  
  
"CLIFFY!" Cliff yelled, and hugged the horse round the neck. "How did you find him!"  
  
"He was in Silas' barn. Back to his rightful owner." Hilde gave him the thumbs up sign. Suddenly, there was a loud sound from next door.  
  
"Wonder what that is...?" Rae murmured.  
  
TBC...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Nayru: WOW! That was fun!  
  
Xiao: What could happen next?  
  
Ran-Ran: A new boy?  
  
BOY STATS:  
  
Cliff: 3  
  
Kai: 1  
  
Gray: 0  
  
Nayru: You have four or five chapters left to vote! 


	8. Gray Gives Up! No Need for... Sheep?

STORY OF A GIRL  
  
Nayru: Wow, this hasn't been touched in a long time. Not all summer, geez, I better get to this!  
  
Xiao: Next chapter, voting for Rae's future spouse will be decided, so vote fast as this is your /last/ //chance//! Will it be the farmhand Cliff? Is it the close friend Kai? Or the man behind the hedge, Gray?  
  
Ran-Ran: I'm all for Kai.  
  
Xiao: Go Cliff go!  
  
Nayru: I'm impartial to Cliff myself.  
  
Ran-Ran: KAI!  
  
Nayru/ Xiao: CLIFF!  
  
Disclaimer: No, it still ain't mine.  
  
Gray Gives Up! No Need for. Sheep?  
  
Rae dashed into the next yard, followed closely by Cliff and Kai. Saibara was scolding Gray.  
  
"You let the sheep loose! How could you be so careless?" Gray hung his head in shame.  
  
"The girl Ann. she distracted me." Gray mumbled.  
  
"Can't you be a normal man and look to a girl with money, such as Rae?" Saibara snorted.  
  
"She's taken. I'm not strong enough for a girl like her." Gray shook his head. "I'm in love with Ann." He then noticed the trio standing near the trees.  
  
"Ah, Raye, Cliff, Kai! So good to see you three!" Saibara called to them. "We need to ask your help. Our sheep have escaped. Can we ask you to catch them? I'm too elderly to chase sheep around, and Gray has to repair the fence." Saibara tossed an angry glare at his son. "Please?"  
  
"No problem, Mr. Saibara!" Rae chirped. She and one of the other boys dashed off, but Saibara grabbed one.  
  
"Just a minute there." Saibara murmured, as Gray began work on the fence. "I want to talk to you, boy." The young man swallowed hard and nodded. "Don't think I can't see you love that girl. I'm a sharp man. Do you love that girl beyond your own life?" The man nodded. "Then I demand you not do the work tonight, go to the mine, and find a piece of silver ore. You are to bring it back here once you have it. I refuse to let that nice girl be pulled around like a tug-of-war rope anymore. You are to marry that girl." The young man's jaw dropped. He nodded, and ran off.  
  
"YEEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAA!" Rae shouted as she grabbed her eighth sheep. The other young man watched in laughter. The young man from before finally came up.  
  
"So what have I missed?"  
  
"AREN'T YOU TWO GONNA HELP ME CATCH A SHEEP!" Cliff and Kai looked at each other, and both nodded.  
  
"So where were you?" The second one asked.  
  
"Out." The first replied. Rae, in a focused state, led every single sheep back into the pen.  
  
"Don't you guys want to help?" Cliff leashed a sheep and led it back, followed by Kai.  
  
Gray stared at Rae. "What I have is merely a feeling. Love is so much deeper than feeling. Love is soul. Love is body, love is mind. Certainly, she seems shallow. But if one can delve past her strong surface, and her determination to pride her grandfather, only those close to her can see that beyond a work-hardened adult, there is a four-year-old girl who just wants to play with her grandfather. Perhaps she's just looking for her grandfather inside one of these young boys." He looked between Kai and Cliff. "She's been betrayed, of course." Gray bent down to pet a sheep. It looked up at him and bleated. "Come hell or high water, Rae has found her grandfather. Like the Oedipus complex, she is in love with him. And I know that come hell or high water, she's going to marry him." Gray smiled to himself for the first time in years. "I've done the right thing."  
  
Saibara awaited the young man. "Good job. I've made it." Saibara showed him a small box. "Find somewhere private, you know what to do."  
  
"But.!" He protested.  
  
"Shut it. Listen to me." Saibara put his hands on his hips. "Her mother's name was Ellen. I know this for one reason. I'm her twin brother. We were 25 when we last saw each other." The man gasped. "I promised that when her daughter or son someday returned to this town, he or she'd be happy. As her uncle, I can see that you two are entwined like two wild grape vines. You've saved her life. So has your rival. You've helped her with her work. So has he, I admit. But there's one thing you've done that he has not. And that is."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Nayru: So I'm rushing it a bit. But wow, I did a good job of concealing who the mystery young man is!  
  
Xiao: Kai.  
  
Ran-Ran: Cliff.  
  
Nayru: It's up to our readers!  
  
Cliff: 4  
  
Kai: 3  
  
Ran-Ran: VOTE CLIFF!  
  
Xiao: VOTE KAI!  
  
Nayru: Actually, just VOTE! 


	9. The Big Proposal! No Need for Revenge!

STORY OF A GIRL ~Chapter 9~  
  
  
  
Nayru: Recent reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. Story Of a Girl is back!  
  
Xiao: She's alive, kicking, and writing romance/drama Harvest Moon fics.  
  
Ran-Ran: That's not a good thing, if you're wondering.  
  
Xiao: Do we stop her?  
  
Ran-Ran: That would be rude. We help her like good muses.  
  
Nayru: You people have made the big decision on the fork this river flows, and we all know the winner. Of course, our lovely main character does not. Here it goes with chapter nine!  
  
Disclaimer: As much as I would like it, this video game still isn't mine.  
  
The Big Proposal! No Need for Revenge!  
  
"Young Cliff, you've fought for her, you fought for her regardless of how well you knew her then, and I know you'd do it again, and even die for her. Kai could never compare with you after this, not in a million years." Cliff nodded firmly, knowing it was true. Saibara grinned. "Good boy. You know what you have to do."  
  
"But it's only been two seasons. Do you think it's been long enough?" Cliff protested again, still unsure.  
  
"Of course it's been long enough. And before you ask, she is old enough. Girls marry younger and faster in this civilization; you should know that by now. I know that you yourself are more than twice your own mother's age... or you would be if she still was alive." Cliff swallowed hard and nervously. "Man to man, Cliff, this is man to man. She's ready if you're ready. Make your move before someone else gets to her. Think of it as chess. you have her in check. Now," Saibara chuckled to himself. "You have to put her in mate." (1) Cliff turned his head confusedly, having no idea what Saibara was talking about.  
  
"If you're sure this is right."  
  
"Right as rain. Here comes the bride. I'll leave you alone." Saibara walked away.  
  
"WAIT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO- " Cliff shouted after him.  
  
"Hi Cliffy." Rae smiled sweetly, interrupting Cliff's cry for help.  
  
"- say. Hi Rae." Cliff smiled just as kindly.  
  
"What do you have in your hand?" She asked innocently, almost naively.  
  
"Uh, uhm, erm..." Cliff looked to the shed where Saibara stood. Saibara gestured for him to... Cliff had no idea what he was gesturing for. Disaster strikes.  
  
"Cliff, are you okay?" Rae asked, raising a worried eyebrow.  
  
"F-f-f-f-fine! Quite fine! Uh, I don't know how to say this, so I'll say it the only way I know how." Cliff took a nervous breath and grabbed Rae's hands in his. "Marry me, please marry me!" He removed one of his hands from the love clasp to take the ring from his pocket, remove it from the box, and held it out to her. "If you don't accept my love and this ring, I'll just break!" He gasped nearly breathlessly, as Rae blinked a few times.  
  
"Marry you...?" She whispered. Cliff began shaking. He let go of her hands in fear.  
  
"You don't have to accept."  
  
"But I do." Rae gently plucked the ring from his hand, and put it on her finger. Cliff looked up, wiping a few tears from his cheek. She hugged him around the neck, and whispered, "Kiss me, you fool." Lovingly, he pressed his lips to hers, embracing her wildly, kissing for the fourth time. Instead of a gentle peck on the cheek like the first time, or a gentle touch of the lips like the second, or a playful affectionate joke, it was whole hearted, unhesitant, and pure.  
  
"So the deed's been done. I no longer need to worry for her." Kai whispered, seeing the whole scene from on top of the barn. Gray nodded.  
  
"Father informed me he would make Cliff propose earlier today. He asked me if I could end my feelings for her, and I simply said it would be easy. It was easy, and it will be easy for you too."  
  
"Me? Love Rae? Are you kidding?" He laughed. "We're friends, only friends! I mean, I love her as a friend. I'd even be the best man, in case something comes between Cliff and the wedding. I'll ask him if I can. Knowing Rae, I know that Karen's going to be the maid of honor, giving me the opportunity to dance with her as standard wedding protocol! It's perfect!" Kai's eyes shone at the thought of the beautiful woman he loved.  
  
"That reminds me. I made something for you." Gray handed Kai a gold engagement ring. "I knew you loved her so, so as a friend..."  
  
"Thank you... so much, so very much!" He hugged Gray around the arms. "Thank you, and good night!" Kai dashed off, partially stumbling and shivering.  
  
~The next morning~  
  
"Mm, Cliff..." Rae mumbled from under the sheets.  
  
"Hmm, lovely?" Cliff answered, sitting up carefully, slowly nudging his fiancé off his chest.  
  
"What time is it?"  
  
"... Shit, it's almost ten."  
  
"HOW COULD ANYONE LET ME SLEEP THIS LONG?!" Kai looked at the small house, rubbing his ears.  
  
"Wow, she yells loud."  
  
Rae had hopped out of bed. "I need to work!" She shoved her shoes on. "The cow, the horse, the vegetables!"  
  
"Rae, come look out the window... Kai's already working, it looks like he's fed the cow and started weeding, and watered the vegetables. Besides. don't you need clothes to do any work?" Cliff sighed calmly, as Rae looked down slowly. "It's nothing I haven't seen, but get dressed, make yourself half presentable, even in your current state, and I'll get some breakfast on the table. Then you can finish your chores, and I'll get to work on some home improvements. We're going to need a slightly bigger house, more than a single person home, and maybe a bigger bed." Rae had already started to dress. "At least one of can keep our calm." He laughed. Rae giggled with him, as she started to brush her hair.  
  
"Oh, and by the way. last night was wonderful." Cliff put a plate of rice cakes and cottage cheese on the table.  
  
"It was good for me too, love." He nuzzled her cheek as she sat down across the table from him. They began to eat, and Kai came in.  
  
"Good morning, lovebirds! Congratulations for letting your cries of passion reach my house." He laughed. "I can't say that I myself didn't sleep well. Last night, I slept next to one of the most beautiful women in town, Karen and I are engaged!"  
  
"Nice score, Kai." Cliff smiled.  
  
"Perfect!" Rae's eyes shimmered. "A double wedding! It'll be beautiful!"  
  
Cliff gave Kai a plate of food, and the trio sat down to discuss the wedding. They hadn't read the morning paper yet. They hadn't seen the headline, "Dangerous Deranged Rose Village Murderer Escapes Jail!". They didn't know how much danger they were in.  
  
"So, Rae." Silas murmured, looking at the engagement announcements. "You didn't wait for me. You chose him over me." He threw the paper aside. "I can't take you now, but you won't have the one you want. You'll be miserable, if I have my way. You'll be miserable with a man you don't love. I'm going to ruin your life." He laughed menacingly to himself. "And I know just how."  
  
TO BE CONTINUED  
  
Nayru: What is Silas planning!?  
  
Xiao: Will these engagements make it to the wedding?  
  
Nayru: And what exactly were Rae and Cliff doing?  
  
Ran-Ran: Find out next chapter, hopefully coming soon, of...  
  
Cliff: Story of my Fiancé?  
  
Nayru: Close enough, Story of a Girl!  
  
The Final Votes:  
  
Cliff: 10  
  
Kai: 3  
  
1: For those of you that don't play chess: The purpose of chess is to be able to kill the king. When you can kill the king, but there is some way your opponent can move out of it, it's called "check". When the king can't move out of the way, it's checkmate, or simply mate. Saibara makes a play on words, as mate also is the word for a spouse. I ruined the joke... 


	10. The Stars Gap! No Need for Silas!

STORY OF A GIRL  
  
  
Nayru: (typing away) Lucy in the Sky, with Diamonds......... Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds!  
  
Xiao: Wow, Nay's gone uber-authoress.  
  
Ran-Ran: It's just a bit scary, but she's already gotten to writing chapter ten of this story.   
  
Xiao: And with no reviewer help. Of course, after the crap she's done in this chapter, she'll   
get bombarded by reviews.   
  
Ran-Ran: Or so I think.   
  
  
DISCLAIMER: ALL YOUR BASE ARE BELONG TO US. Unfortunately, not the rights to this video game.   
  
  
CHAPTER 10  
  
  
The Stars Gap! No Need for Silas!  
  
  
"Cliff, you just can't keep it in your pants." Kai sighed. "I mean, you've only been   
engaged, three, four days maybe? Every time I see you together, you're linked at the lip."   
Cliff grinned proudly. "Wipe that smug look off your face."  
  
"But I'm so freakin' happy! The greatest girl to ever enter my life is marrying me! And   
every single day, our wedding comes closer, so the happier I am!" Cliff cried. Indeed, the   
wedding of our lovely main character neared by the hour. They didn't know how much nearer, no   
date set. They did know that every passing day was a day closer, and another day together to   
make it all the better.  
  
"Things can change. Didn't you hear the news?" Kai sighed nervously as Cliff shook his   
head. "Silas has escaped. According to police, he's headed for this town, and if we know his   
nature........."  
  
"He's going to prevent our wedding. Damn it, you ruin my naivete!" Cliff jumped up. "I   
need to warn Rae!" Kai raised an eyebrow. "Er, be sure she's alright, I just know he'll target   
her. I mean, I'm sure she knows."   
  
  
"So it's agreed, an outside wedding in the vineyard is most beautiful in late summer to  
mid fall, if the wedding is in mid fall, late fall, or early winter, we should have the wedding   
on the mountain top, or in late winter, the wedding should be in the church chapel, is that   
right?" Karen repeated everything she and Rae had been discussing.   
  
"Exactly, and I love your idea for the mountain wedding, letting doves fly at the end of  
the ceremony! We also need to work on color coordination." Rae laughed. "I never knew a wedding   
could be so much planning!" Just then, Maria joined the group.   
  
"Hi Karen, Rae! I brought you those tuxedo swaps." Maria giggled. "You're going to be at   
our wedding too, right? Mine and Gray's?" Maria had moved quickly in the two days since Gray   
proposed. The proposal was the most unexpected event , but in the eyes of the townspeople, the   
more the merrier. The date was set for early spring next year, because Gray wanted to be able   
to keep his animals outside so they wouldn't go hungry his wedding day and early married life.   
"It's wonderful that you two are having a wedding together. It's the biggest event planned for   
the next year. I mean, there hasn't been a double wedding in this town since the economy crashed   
ten years ago. It's a lot of planning, though. You two have to coordinate every single thing."  
Maria continued to babble. Rae simply sighed in silent joy, finding it so hard to hold her glee   
inside. She stared at the beautiful forest around her, seeing how much lovelier everything was.   
  
It was a terrible mistake. Silas slid out of a bush Rae happened to be looking at, right   
behind Maria and Karen. Rae blinked a few times. He grinned maliciously, took a knife from his   
coat, gestured it at her neck, and slid back into the bush.  
  
If any girl had been able to scream louder than the way Rae screamed at that moment,   
she would have caught the ears of towns two miles away. As it was, every person in town looked   
up at that very second to hear a terrified shriek. Everyone stared around them like dumbfounded   
animals, except Maria and Karen.   
  
"Rae, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Karen looked at her frightened friend with worry  
and curiosity.   
  
"It's Silas, he's come back, he's going to kill us all, he wants to kill me!" Maria and   
Karen looked at each other.   
  
"You saw him behind us? Just now?" Maria whispered, knowing her friend's fear of him.   
"We should get the police, I mean, we can't take any risks!" That's when Cliff arrived, out of   
breath. "Or better yet, her fiancee."  
  
"Rae! I heard you screaming, what happened?!"   
  
"She saw Silas!" Karen cried, shaking in fear.   
  
"........ Maria, go get Harris. Karen, go to Kai, and inform him of a mandatory meeting   
with us four as soon as Rae and I get home. Rae, stay here." Maria ran off.  
  
"A meeting? Why so urgent?" Karen asked fearfully.  
  
"If I know Silas, he will ruin the wedding. We need to set it quickly and secretively."  
Karen pondered this for a moment, nodded, and left. Cliff finally wrapped his arms around Rae,   
who was at this point shaking and crying. "There, there, darling, the bad man can't hurt you now   
that I'm here." He soothed her like one would calm a young child.   
  
"But he has a big knife........" Rae sniffled. "I've never been this scared before..."   
  
"You don't need to be scared........ nothing bad can happen as long as I'm here." Just   
then, Maria arrived with Harris.   
  
"It seems our town lawkeeper was already on his way." Maria peeped frightenedly, looking   
around nervously.   
  
"Rae, Cliff." Harris tipped his hat.  
  
"Sir." Cliff answered, nodding.  
  
"The town's on alerts, everyone is curious as to what's gone on here. What, with that   
terribly loud scream."   
  
"Silas has been sighted. By my fiancee." Cliff patted Rae's shoulder.   
  
"How much has she said?"  
  
"I can tell him." Rae sighed wearily. "He was in those bushes, he just looked at me, with  
his evil smile, and gestured with a knife he was going to kill me!"   
  
"Sounds like a scary experience. Were you the only one who saw him?"   
  
"It was behind Maria and Karen, in that copse........" Rae gestured to a clump of trees   
behind Harris, still obviously shaking.   
  
Harris went to the clump of trees. "By the gods, she's not lying!" Harris pulled a   
package from the trees. "Addressed to 'The Future Rae Sernet'".  
  
"But Sernet is Kai's last name!" Cliff yelled in outrage. Rae blinked calculatively.   
  
"It may be a clue as to what he plans to do." Harris opened the package. "A white lily,   
with blood stains. Obviously a message of death. A piece of the church's broken window. A note,   
in Silas' handwriting, and three Hawk's feathers, dipped in blood." Harris sighed. "The message   
says 'I wish you well on your married life, for isn't misery better than death?' A strange   
combination."  
  
"A white lily, sent usually to a funeral..... a broken chruch window, broken vows.....   
and a death threat for Cliff." Rae whispered. She stepped back from Cliff and Harris, wide eyed.   
Suddenly, she broke into hysterics. "DON'T TAKE HIM FROM ME, I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT HIM! YOU FREAK,  
YOU DISGUSTING MISTAKE OF SOCIETY, LET ME KEEP HIM! KILL ME INSTEAD! DEATH IS BETTER THAN LIFE   
WITH OUT HIM! I NEED HIM, I NEED HIM, DON'T TAKE HIM!" Cliff grabbed Rae's shoulder.  
  
"Shh, shh, let's go home, darling..... I apologize for her, Harris, she's a bit unnerved   
right now, if you can't tell." Harris nodded. "Good evening." Cliff half dragged Rae away.   
  
  
Late that night  
  
  
"Due to the reappearance of Silas, we need to start solidifying plans. A date, place, and  
guest list. I've already finished the list for Rae and myself. Have you two gotten any work done  
on the plans?" Cliff sighed. Rae was in the bedroom, sobbing softly to herself. Kai, Karen, and   
Cliff were at the dining room table. And Dix, the lovable farm mutt, was guarding the door.   
  
"We've got a list done." Kai pushed a sheet of paper forward. "Not too much, her parents,  
my parents, two of her relatives, three of mine, and all our mutual friends. Totals 17. What's on  
yours?"   
  
"The hawk, the dog, her grandma, my grandpa, and our mutual friends which coincide with   
yours. Ann, Maria, Popuri, Elli, Gray, the Doctor, Harris, and the mayor." Cliff read his list.  
  
"So, that's 20 people." Karen murmured.   
  
"Right. Outside of those people, the wedding place and date are undisclosed. A date, a   
nice date. Sort of soon, but giving us enough time. Early fall at the latest. How about the   
vineyard?"  
  
"Anywhere but there!" Karen cried. "He knows we plan an early fall wedding to be in the  
vineyard, why not the church?"   
  
"But of course, it'll be a lovely sight... the fall sun hitting the stained glass window.   
The church, it's settled. We're getting married in two weeks, the first Sunday of fall!" Cliff   
smiled in relief. "Nobody can know about this. Tell nobody. We'll send out invitations next week,  
and hope for the best. Karen, I request you and Rae go look at dresses tomorrow. Kai and I can   
pick out suits or tuxes for ourselves, right? After tonight's church mass, I'll set this up with   
Priest Maxwell. Be careful with yourselves. Adjourned." Cliff went into a more friendly   
disposition. "Coffee anyone?"  
  
"No, I need to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow, looking at dresses is no easy task."   
Karen departed the house.   
  
"I'll go with Karen. Be careful with Rae, keep a close eye on her." Kai followed Karen.   
  
Cliff peered in on Rae. She was fast asleep, curled up in Cliff's bed. Cliff stroked her   
soft gold hair. He smiled softly, and began to sing a soft song. "Close your eyes, close your   
eyes and relax, close your eyes, close your eyes and relax, for everything's alright, yes, every  
thing's alright, yes, close your eyes, close your eyes and good night....."   
  
  
A week and a half later.....   
  
  
"So, the dresses will be finished by tomorrow?" Rae asked Karen. A leaf fell onto the   
coffee table. Eggplants and cabbage were planted in the garden, and growing. The wedding was on,   
and no appearance of Silas in ten days was to keep it that way. Ten days, a wedding planned. Ten   
days, invitations sent out. Ten days, and four lives about to change.   
  
"Yeah, the alterations are almost finished. Popuri's coming later today with the designs   
for the bouquets. It's so exciting, in four days, we'll be Karen Sernet and Rae Hawk! Grown   
adults, me out of my dad's home! It's so wonderful....."  
  
"Wonderful it is, Karen. But the risk still exists in those four remaining days. We have   
not won yet." Rae sighed nervously, and swiped her hair from her eyes. "All could be lost in a   
matter of hours."  
  
Meanwhile, not too far away...  
  
  
"So, a wedding in a church, love?" The man asked his lovely girlfriend. Ann nodded.   
  
"It's a double wedding, two of my friends. I'm sure you'd like to come with me." Ann   
smiled sweetly at him. Silas thought for a brief moment, and leaned forward to whisper in Ann's   
ear.  
  
"I won't be there." Silas grabbed Ann's hands, and grinned insanely. "And nor shall you."  
  
TBC.....  
  
  
Nayru: I don't know how to looooove him.....  
  
Xiao: Erm, next time on Story of a Girl!   
  
Ran-Ran: The big wedding day arrives! But will the brides and grooms be there?  
  
Xiao: What does Silas have planned?   
  
Ran-Ran: Will he succeed?  
  
Nayru: He scares me so, I love him so.....  
  
Xiao: Should we interrupt her caterwauling?  
  
Ran-Ran: Nah. Let her have her fun. Review, peoples!!!  
  
Xiao: Peaceout, yo! 


	11. Wedding Bells Ringing! No Need For Hatre...

STORY OF A GIRL  
  
Nayru: Guess who's back, back again, I am back, tell your friends...  
  
Xiao: She's gone off uber, but she's as fast as ever.   
  
Nayru: Today, we've got the wedding, I can't come up with any pre-chapter blathering, so on   
  
with the show!  
  
Disclaimer: We're still poor, and still don't own Harvest Moon. We do own Rae and Silas. They   
  
are my creations, so ask if you want to use them, not that we've had any plagiarisms yet...   
  
Warning: This chapter will include excessive scene changes and time skips. I don't want any   
  
whining about it, please. Also, this is technically a double chapter, so take this time now to   
  
get yourself a soda.  
  
Ready? Good, cause here comes...  
  
Wedding Bells Ringing! No Need For Hatred!   
  
AND  
  
The Six Tasks! No Need For Alcohol!  
  
Day: The Wedding Day, 4th Fall.   
  
Time: 5 in the Morning.  
  
Place: The Farm.   
  
"Rae, Rae..." Cliff gently shook his bride to be. She slept on. "I'll just leave a note,   
  
then." He grabbed a piece of paper and scrawled a note. "Just do the chores, meet her at the   
  
church, no problem in this plan..." Cliff muttered to himself as he threw his jacket on. "Can't   
  
take too long." He stepped outside, and noticed Karen weeding one side of the field. "Karen,   
  
shouldn't you be asleep?"   
  
"No, I can't sleep. I decided to do some chores and take a short walk before the wedding   
  
to clear my mind. I mean, today is the last day my name is Karen Evange. Tomorrow, Karen Sernet.   
  
It's scary! I'm scared!"   
  
"I understand, I'm a bit nervous too." Cliff knelt to help her weed. "I mean, what if   
  
something happens to me, you, Kai, or Rae? I mean, if two of us disappear, if Rae and Kai   
  
vanish, we'd have to marry one another. That was the deal you and Rae made... I don't want to   
  
carry it out. I have to marry Rae." Cliff and Karen opened the barn door together, letting   
  
Cliffy and Koibito out. "I love her, and I've already claimed her... well, her virginity."  
  
"Just can't keep it in your pants." Karen laughed. "But that's okay, you're just, well,   
  
marking your territory, you know?" The duo walked out of the farm. "She's yours. I won't come   
  
in between." Karen paused, near the entrance to town. "I wouldn't lose Kai for the world."  
  
  
  
"Ah, but you will.", came a hate filled voice from behind them. Silas smirked down at   
  
them, large lead pipe in hand. "Neither of you are making it to the wedding." He cracked them   
  
both upside the head, and dragged their unconcious bodies off- as Ann watched.   
  
7:30 am, same place  
  
Rae and Kai were eating breakfast. Everything needed for the wedding was ready by the   
  
door. "So, Karen and Cliff are gonna meet us at the wedding?" Kai asked.   
  
"Yeah, or I hope so." Rae nudged her eggs around. "I can't help but feel something bad's   
  
about to happen. Wedding starts at nine, correct?" Rae took out the schedule and began to look   
  
it over one last time.   
  
"Yup, and four of us at the altar by nine-fifteen. The ceremony's gonna last kinda long,   
  
as it's double, and the party's in the square at one. All we have to do is hope those two make   
  
the wedding." Kai sighed nervously. "Just hope."   
  
Elsewhere, 8:00  
  
"Uhn...?" Cliff mumbled, as he looked up slowly. He was tied back to back with Karen, in   
  
a barn, in a place they didn't know. Silas glowered down at him.   
  
"Oh look, an hour until your wedding, and you're not even at the church." Cliff tried to   
  
lunge at Silas, but failed miserably. He did succeed at shaking Karen awake. "No use. Go on,   
  
try and escape. I'd like to see you try." He turned to Ann. "Of course, we have to attend Rae   
  
and Kai's wedding. Thank you for stealing my Rae, Cliff. And I'm so sorry you had to get mixed   
  
up in this, Karen. Ta ta!" And Silas dragged Ann out.   
  
Ann turned back quickly. "I'm so sorry..." She got dragged off before she could say   
  
another word.   
  
"Well, Karen, this is the end of me." Cliff sighed, holding back tears. "My Rae, given   
  
off to Kai. And nothing I can do to stop it. It's hopeless..." Karen frowned, and elbowed him   
  
in the gut. "HEY! What the hell?"  
  
"Are you giving up that easily?" Karen growled. "I read this in some book, Houdini or   
  
something like that. With luck, we'll be able to be there at 9:30, and pray they wait for us."   
  
In The Church, 8:30   
  
Kai was talking to Gray, who was seated in the second row. "I'm seriously worried, she's   
  
not here yet. I mean, it's our wedding! How can she be late?"  
  
Gray frowned. "Well, it's always possible she decided at the last minute that she didn't   
  
want to marry you. Maybe she just got held up.   
  
Rae was in a room near the chapel, sneaking her bandanna back on. Her white dress   
  
glittered in the fresh fall sun, and her straight but ridiculously long hair tied up in a bun,   
  
but the bride insisted she wasn't herself without the red with a black and white design square   
  
of fabric. Elli snatched it and set it on a side table. "Please stop, you look fine without   
  
it!" Elli quickly changed the subject off the bandanna. "Shouldn't you be worried about   
  
Cliff?"  
  
"I am worried about Cliff. Can I please go look for him?" Rae pleaded.   
  
"No! You can't leave now." Elli rubbed Rae's shoulders. "He'll come. If something's   
  
happened, we'll find him, or wait. I'll go get Harris to search for him, if it makes you feel   
  
better." Elli left the room, taking Rae's bandanna with her. Rae simply sighed.  
  
"Cliff, where are you?"   
  
Back in the Shed, 8:45  
  
"Cliff, try to pull your hand back farther!" Karen urged.  
  
  
  
"I am, let me get this glove off." Cliff managed to bend his head near his hand, and   
  
used his teeth to yank one of his work gloves off. He managed to force his hand back more than   
  
it had been forced already. Karen yanked a hand free, and untied the ropes on the other hand.   
  
  
  
"I can't reach my leg knots!" Cliff protested. "I can't stand either!"   
  
"Nor can I. Okay, take my hands, we'll try to stand up and get to the knife on the work   
  
bench. Nodding, Cliff grabbed Karen's hands, and began to force themselves into a stand. Five   
  
steps in, they fell over. "Okay... this could take a while."   
  
The Church, 9:00   
  
Harris entered the church, slightly worried. "There's no sign of Karen or Cliff in town   
  
in any unlocked building. There's no warrant, so I can't go in any locked buildings." Kai and   
  
Rae looked at Priest Maxwell.   
  
"... Alright, we'll wait until 9:30. If they're not here then, I'll marry you two, by   
  
the precedent of double weddings." Duo sighed. "Just hope they get here."   
  
Kai looked back, where Rae was waiting for the procession to start. "Cliff, you better   
  
get here." Kai whispered.   
  
The Shed, 9:20   
  
Karen released Cliff's hands. He hopped to the table, grabbed the knife, and cut the   
  
ropes on his legs. Karen grabbed the knife after him and slit her ropes. "We've got no time to   
  
run." She sighed, knowing they failed.   
  
"I'm going to try." Cliff braced himself, and dashed through the locked door. He ran like  
  
he never had run before.   
  
The Church, 9:29   
  
"It's almost 9:30, Rae." Kai patted the now crying bride on the shoulder. "He's probably   
  
wimped out, and run off with Karen. I guess it won't be so bad, being my wife?" In the back   
  
row, Silas smirked, knowing he had won.   
  
"Kai, I don't love you, I love Cliff!" She looked through her veil at Kai, tears   
  
shimmering on the rims of her large eyes. "I'd give anything for him to be here..."   
  
"Please, it's 9:30 now. Stand up... he's had his time. There's no way he's coming." Kai   
  
pulled Rae to a stand. "I'm very sorry... I just wish Karen had cared enough about me to come."   
  
"We're coming, we're coming!" yelled a voice at the door. Just then, Cliff burst through   
  
the door. Karen ran in behind him.   
  
"Cliff!" Rae dashed into his arms. "I thought you wouldn't make it!"   
  
"Darling, I'd never let you go. No offense, Kai, but you don't deserve her. In fact, I   
  
don't think anybody can measure up to her standards. But I know two things for a fact... One, I   
  
would do anything, run to the ends of the earth and back, for her. Two, Silas is in the back   
  
row, Harris, so I suggest you rearrest him for kidnap and escaping jail." Harris blinked, and   
  
looked directly at Silas.   
  
"... He's right." Harris grabbed Silas before he could run, and handcuffed him. "You're   
  
going back to jail. After the wedding, of course." He sat next to Silas, as Rae and Cliff   
  
embraced. Kai and Karen seemed to be having a prewedding cuddle session as well.   
  
Duo cleared his throat loudly. "If Karen and Cliff would kindly change into their attire   
  
so we can get on with this, I think our audience would be most obliged." Sheepishly, Cliff and   
  
Karen went into the back room to dress.   
  
A few minutes later...  
  
Karen and Rae were in pure white dresses, standing side by side at the center of the   
  
altar. Karen had chosen a more traditional gown, with a wide skirt, a lot of lace, and a large   
  
bow at the back. Rae preferred a more modern dress, slightly slimmer, with a chain of pearls   
  
running around the waist and hem. Both girls wore a veil rimmed with roses. Cliff and Kai had   
  
tried to choose proper suits for themselves without any feminine help. Kai had ended up in a   
  
grey suit, with a red tie. Cliff chose a black tuxedo, red bowtie, and a rose in his lapel.   
  
Each girl carried a bouquet, with a few white roses and several nicely arranged pink cat mint   
  
flowers.  
  
The overall mood was estatic. Rae was hugging onto Cliff's arm, shivering eagerly. Karen was   
  
smiling widely, holding Kai's hand. Popuri, Elli, and Maria were giggling excitedly. Harris,   
  
the Mayor, the Doctor, the Midwife, and all the family members present were smiling on happily.  
  
Gray seemed indifferent, but was smiling inside. Silas was, of course, still fuming. Kane was   
  
perched on a rafter, watching in disgust as his master married a woman. Dix was being held in   
  
Cliff's grandfather's lap, but watching excitedly. Ann was smiling pleasantly as well, on the   
  
opposite side of the church from Silas, and holding Rick's hand. Rick gently kissed her cheek.   
  
He knew Ann was still in pain from her relationship with Silas, no matter how short or long it   
  
was. Duo looked around the room. "I think we can begin the ceremony now." He smiled as he took   
  
out a book.  
  
Over the next two hours, the following things occured: (aka I'm lazy, so condensed mode.)   
  
Cliff and Kai both took communion. Rae and Karen drank a cup of holy water.   
  
All four recieved blessings for purity, love, fruitfulness, and faith.   
  
Duo read something from the Bible. (AN: I ain't Christian, or Catholic, or anything   
  
related to it. Forgive me because I can't name what it is.)   
  
The service was stopped for 15 minutes when Silas made a run for it.   
  
  
  
Back to descriptive mode, 12:45.   
  
"Well, we've come past the prayers, blessings, and idiotic jailbreak attempts. You four   
  
have come so far since that lovely Spring day Rae and Cliff met, and that day when Karen and   
  
Kai became friends. I commend Rae especially on this day, for her fantastic efforts at pulling   
  
our little town from poverty. I'd like to take this time to announce that Rose Village has   
  
risen to the fourth richest town in this state, thanks to the triple in agriculture!" Rae   
  
grinned, hugging Cliff tighter. Duo continued to smile at the couples. "I understand that you   
  
four have written your own vows. Gentlemen first." Cliff and Kai both turned to their bride,   
  
taking their hands.   
  
Together they began. "I do, for as long as I do live-"  
  
Kai spoke alone, "Take you Karen-"  
  
Cliff spoke, "As I take Rae-"  
  
"Take you to be my wife, honor and keep you, love you and cherish you, be everything you   
  
ask for in me within my own power, uphold each promise I make to you, and remain by your side   
  
til the day I die. I take you in love." Both men intoned, Kai half shouting, Cliff barely   
  
mumbling.   
  
The girls both began to gasp their own vows nervously. "I do, for as long as I do live-"  
  
Karen smiled nervously as she whispered, "Take you Kai-"   
  
Rae continued, "As I take Cliff-"  
  
"I take you to be my husband, my one and only, love and honor you, continue your   
  
namesake in giving you heirs, do what you ask of me, and remain by your side til the day I die.   
  
I take you in love." The girls looked up. "Do you swear your promises?"  
  
Both men nodded. "I do. Do you swear your promises?"  
  
"I do." Rae and Karen neared their husbands-to-be.   
  
  
  
"You swear?"   
  
"We do. You swear?"  
  
"When I can get away with it!" Karen shouted, breaking the tension, as the crowd   
  
laughed.   
  
  
  
"We do." The girls finished.  
  
Duo placed his hand over their heads. "I proudly pronounce you two, Kai and Karen, and   
  
you two, Cliff and Rae, husband and wife, you may kiss the bride."  
  
Cliff lifted Rae's veil. He saw there were still tear streaks across her face, but her   
  
eyes shone out only love. He neared her, knelt down the five inches height between them, and   
  
kissed her profoundly and truely. As they pulled apart, Rae whispered, "I love you, Cliff."  
  
"Ladies and gentlemen, gathered family and friends, as well as a convicted criminal and   
  
two pets, I present Kai and Karen Sernet, and Cliff and Rae Hawk!" Duo closed the book, as the  
  
words echoed in everyone's ears. Everyone applauded like mad. "Party in the square for everyone   
  
but Harris and Silas! So, who can take me down in a drinking contest?" People began to file   
  
out. Cliff's grandfather approached Cliff and Rae.  
  
"So, this is the famous Rae Ginram. Of course, it is Rae Hawk now." He shook her hand.   
  
"This is such an honor. I never thought I'd live to see young Cliff marry such a fine young   
  
lady like you. You're successful and wealthy, but that isn't why he's married you, is it? He  
  
loves you because you're a wonderful person." Cliff nodded. Rae giggled and hugged   
  
Cliff tighter.  
  
"No, never!" Cliff cried.   
  
His grandfather chortled. "He loves you because you're a wonderful person." Cliff nodded.  
  
Rae giggled and hugged Cliff tighter.  
  
"Just like I love him for him! And I always will love him for him. I'd do anything to be   
  
sure I keep him forever." Cliff blushed, and patted Rae's head.  
  
"Well, I'm going for that punch now. See you all at dinner."   
  
  
  
PARTY TIME! 1:00 in the square  
  
No matter whether they recieved an invitation or not, every person, of all ages, genders,  
  
and races, were at the square helping to set up the party. Ann's father, Duke, Manna, Lilia,   
  
and Saibara were preparing food. Karen's mother and father were setting up a wine rack. Duo was   
  
testing the wines, until Hilde dragged him off ranting about him being pure. Ann, Popuri,   
  
Maria, and Elli were putting out flower arrangements. Rick, the Doctor, and Gray were finishing   
  
setting up torches, since the party was going to last until midnight. Basil was signing the   
  
guestbook he had brought. Everyone looked up as Rae and Cliff entered. Karen, Rae's   
  
grandmother, instantly approached them, and hugged Cliff around the waist.  
  
"What a good catch, girl, this is a fine example of a man!" She shook Cliff, who was  
  
silently panicking. "He looks as good as your grandfather did when I married him, even a little   
  
better. You are going to give me many grandchildren, right?" She narrowed her still leaf-green   
  
eyes at Cliff, who swiftly nodded. "What a good boy. I've decided to move here, so I could be   
  
with you. I am getting a bit old, and need some family."  
  
"What a wise decision, grandmother." Rae smiled. "I know you'll love it here. After all,   
  
you've lived here before. I'm sure it's only gotten better."   
  
"I know, dearie. Ah, I'd best go speak to old Clifford. I haven't seen him since I left   
  
your grandfather 21 years ago." She went up to Cliff's grandfather and began to banter with him   
  
cheerfully. Rae hugged Cliff happily again.   
  
"Everything is so wonderful!" She squealed.   
  
"And it can only get better, dear." Cliff kissed her cheek. "Just think about our lil   
  
honeymoon." He smirked, and ruffled her hair. Rae tucked a flower from her bouquet behind her  
  
ear.   
  
"And just imagine, all the wonderful festivities. There's a lot of traditions to be   
  
followed, you know. The midwife insists that we do each one." Cliff gulped nervously.   
  
2:00  
  
"Attention everyone, the first of six traditions will occur now!" The Midwife called.   
  
In the center of the square, she set up two chairs and lay a broom across them. "Each couple is   
  
to jump over this broom. If one of a pair cannot jump it, the wedding is null!" A few older men   
  
and women nodded, as the younger people in the village blinked. Cliff and Rae took hands, and   
  
jumped the broom with ease. Kai and Karen did the same. The Midwife grinned. "A foolish   
  
tradition. T'was merely used in the old days to rule out cripples."   
  
Collectively, the younger generation sighed.   
  
"The next task will occur at 3:00. It will not be publicly seen, and I ask the young   
  
ladies to meet me outside of the square." The party continued, but it left Rae wondering what   
  
this second task would be.   
  
"Rae, Rae, check this out!" Popuri called. "They just finished the cake!" Rae and Karen   
  
both looked up. Indeed, a five tiered, white with chocolate designed, perfect cake had been  
  
unveiled for the public to see. The top tier had small wooden dolls of each bride and groom.   
  
"It's absolutely perfect!" Karen squealed.   
  
"It's beautiful!" Rae sighed longingly.   
  
"Cut the cake, cut the cake!" Elli chanted.   
  
The Midwife approached them. "No cake until after the second task!" All six girls groaned  
  
in cake-loving misery.   
  
3:00  
  
"Kai, can we dance?" Karen chirped, bouncing up and down. "Wanna dance, wanna dance?"   
  
  
  
"Of course we can dance, Karen! When the music starts!" Kai laughed.   
  
  
  
"Rae, Karen, please come outside the square!" Sighing, both girls traipsed outside.   
  
"Yes ma'am?" Rae sighed, wondering what tedious task they were assigned.   
  
"I simply need you to lift your skirts to the knees." The Midwife took out a tape   
  
measure. Both girls puzzedly obliged. She slammed the tape around Karen's leg. "I see that you   
  
are indeed wonderfully healthy. You're in for a wonderful marriage. Karen, you pass." Rae   
  
blinked. The Midwife did the same to Rae. "Slightly thick for a female leg. A bit tighter than  
  
Karen's. You may face a bit of clashing on some things, but otherwise your married life will   
  
be very healthy. You pass." The girls sighed in relief. "Send your males out in an hour. My   
  
favorite task is coming up."   
  
4:00   
  
Cliff was looking for a dinner knife to bring with him. "Cliff, don't kill the Midwife."   
  
  
  
"Why not? God knows what she'll do to us!"   
  
Kai folded his arms. "Entertain yourself by prying your wife off the presents."   
  
Rae squealed, "Ooh, a teapot! And cute lil rabbits are on them, eeee!" Cliff moved to   
  
get Rae off the stack of gifts, but was stopped.   
  
"Boys!" The Midwife grabbed both of their shoulders. "Time for the third task." They were  
  
wheeled outside.   
  
"What do we have to do?"  
  
"Boys, drop your trousers. We're going to do a little measuring." Both men screamed.   
  
4:10   
  
Kai and Cliff stormed back in tomato red. "I have never been that embarrased in my LIFE!"  
  
"Kai, what did she do to you?!" Karen cried.   
  
"She made us drop our pants and measured our... our... "  
  
Rae shrieked. "You mean she measured your...?!"  
  
"OUR HIPS!" Both boys wailed.   
  
"Both of your husbands are certified perverts." Rae and Karen laughed at Kai and Cliff's   
  
humiliated misery. The Midwife grinned happily. "Next task is at 5! A slightly more enjoyable   
  
one, for the boys." The boys smirked indignantly, while the girls thought about what this   
  
could mean.   
  
5:00   
  
"Everyone gather round! It's time for the garter toss!" Most guys cheered.   
  
"WHAT?!" Rae squealed. Karen's jaw dropped and stayed there. Rae folded her arms   
  
stubbornly. "I absolutely refuse to participate in such a... such an undignified event!"   
  
"Rae, it's not like I haven't already seen your thighs." Cliff snorted. A particularly   
  
drunken Duke hooted for Cliff, who went beet red as to what he just confessed.   
  
"Geez, Cliff..." Gray muttered, stroking Mary's hand.   
  
Kai led a dumbfounded Karen to one of the two stools set up, as Cliff forced Rae into a   
  
seat. "Ladies, extend your legs." Nervously, both girls held out one leg. Karen whimpered   
  
squeamishly as Kai reached partway up her skirt and removed the band. Cliff did the same, but   
  
Rae was more angry than nervous. Both boys tossed the garters over their heads into the crowd,   
  
flying freely. Harris and Gray caught them. Seeming to be reminded of something, Harris lead   
  
Popuri off. Gray simply smiled at Maria.   
  
"Excellently done! Next task is after dinner at 7:00! Start the dancing music!" Joyful,   
  
the girls ran to their husbands, and began to dance to the music. Rae and Cliff attempted an   
  
awkward waltz, with the power going back and forth between them.   
  
"Cliff, let me lead!" Rae tried to lead the steps.  
  
"Nuh-uh, I'm leading!" Cliff pulled her a different way. Kai and Karen were trying a slow  
  
tango. They weren't very successful, despite Karen's dancing talent. Apparently, Kai was the   
  
worst dancer in existance, with two left feet. Karen grinned patiently, and showed him how to   
  
twirl in and out.   
  
"I hate dancing..." Kai sighed.   
  
6:00  
  
"Oi, oi, who's hungry!" A partially drunk Hilde cried. Lillia, Ann's father, Manna, and  
  
Elli carried out food to the table. Kai was dancing like a madman with his bad self, Rae had  
  
started dancing with Clifford, and Cliff was dancing with Rae's grandmother. Hilde dragged   
  
them all off the square space. Gray, Maria, Ann, Popuri, and Rick joined the table. Harris was   
  
somewhat drunk, but he managed his way over. The other adults joined the other tables. Every  
  
one knelt their heads and murmured a brief prayer.   
  
"Dear Lord, bless the marriages which have occured today and the newlyweds. May their   
  
marriages be long and successful. Bless the food upon this table that we may continue to eat in  
  
times of joy." Duo grinned, and started eating. The older people were at different tables,   
  
and most of the young people, as well as Duke, Duo, and Hilde sat at the head table.   
  
Rae grinned, noticing that the selection of vegetables was similar to the selection she   
  
had grown on her farm over the past two seasons. Cliff patted her hand, as the group ate.   
  
"So, Rae, how are you enjoying tonight?" Karen asked between bites.  
  
"It's fun, doncha think? I'm glad we've gotten this far in so short of a time." Rae   
  
replied, picking up a piece of corn. "It seems too good to be true."   
  
"Maybe it is." Popuri shrugged. "If it's all a dream, we'll wake up happy!"   
  
"I'll wake up happy." Karen winked at Kai, who blushed furiously. "Think you will too?"   
  
She turned to Cliff.   
  
"I dunno!" He squealed.   
  
"He already has!" Duke laughed. Cliff went bright red.   
  
"Cliff, you're a slut." Ann giggled.   
  
"Oh, shush." Maria flushed furiously, shooting looks at Gray, causing everyone else to   
  
burst out laughing.   
  
When the laughter subsided, Kai stood up. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I'd like to raise a   
  
toast!" Cliff leapt up, remembering what he was supposed to do.   
  
"I'd like to thank my best man, Kai." He put his arm around Kai's shoulder.   
  
"And I'd like to thank my best man Cliff. I'd also like to thank him for getting Karen to  
  
the church this morning." Kai smirked.  
  
"And I need to thank Karen for getting my ass to church." Cliff laughed. "I thank Duo and  
  
Hilde for organizing all this on such short notice."   
  
"And I thank everyone here for this wonderful party!" Kai added. "And I thank Harris for   
  
getting rid of an uninvited guest." Harris grinned.   
  
"A toast to the occasion if you're not too drunk to do it!" Almost everyone raised their   
  
glass, and touched them with everyone else's at their tables. Rae, Karen, Popuri, Elli, Maria,   
  
and Ann all smashed their glasses against each other's, and burst out laughing as champange   
  
splashed onto the tablecloth. Resignedly but not sadly, the six girls passed around the bottle,  
  
drinking from it. Kai and Cliff silently palmed their faces, and the six gentlemen poured   
  
their drinks into each other's mouth, missing their own.   
  
7:30  
  
The Midwife was watching the utter chaos of the after-dinner dance exasperated. "MAY I   
  
HAVE THE ATTENTION OF THE NEWLYWEDS!" Rae and Kai still had half their sobriety left to realize   
  
they were being called.  
  
"The task is to sing a song. A pretty one." Rae went shiny eyed. "I'll try and retrieve   
  
the lushes over there."  
  
"ME FIRST!" Kai yelled before Rae could. Rae pouted, as Kai took the microphone.   
  
As Kai got onto a podium that had been set up where everyone could hear him, the Midwife   
  
tried to get Karen and Cliff off torturing Gray.  
  
"Didja screw Mary?" Cliff chirped.  
  
"No." Gray growled.  
  
"Didja screw Mary?" Karen giggled.  
  
"NO." Gray clenched his fists. The midwife managed to drag Cliff and Karen away.   
  
Kai was singing "Piano Man". Unfortunately, he sung as well as he danced. About 30   
  
seconds into the song, Duke threw a bottle at him. Not being stupid and in sound mind, Kai ran.  
  
Rae took the microphone eagerly. She then did the one thing nobody expected of a drunk girl:   
  
she sang in french.   
  
"What the world is she singing?" Mary asked Ann.  
  
"Don't ask me. PLEASE, don't ask me." Ann was rubbing her forehead, trying not to laugh   
  
at how terrible Rae's french accent was.   
  
"Ce matin un lapin a tue un chasseur! Ce'tait un lapin qui... cetait un lapin qui!" Rae   
  
was singing.  
  
"I know a little french. I think she just said 'a rabbit killed a hunter...'" Popuri   
  
giggled.   
  
"We heard that on the radio last week. It got stuck in her head." Cliff smirked.   
  
"Ce'tait un lapin qui avait un fusil!" Rae bowed, seeming proud of herself, and walked   
  
off the podium. If this scene were in an anime, every single person in the crowd would   
  
sweatdrop.   
  
"Let's just discontinue this task... one hour, try to sober up a bit." The midwife walked  
  
off, distinctly humming "Ce'tait un lapin qui avait un fusil...".  
  
8:30  
  
The crowd was slowly winding down. Stu and May had gone home, to get away from the   
  
drunken adults. Elli was stretched out on a bench asleep. Duke's drunken ramblings had ended   
  
when Manna took away his alcohol. Cliff, Kai, Rick, Harris, and Rae were arm-in-arm, singing a   
  
slightly drunken version of "Drinking Song".  
  
"And the baaaaaaand plaaaaaaaayed oooooon-" The group took a swig of gin all at once-  
  
"and the heeeeeeeeeeelicoooooopters whirred... drunk on the laaaaawn in a nuclear dawn, my   
  
seeeeeeeeenses fiiiiiinally blurrred..." Karen, Popuri, and Ann were all watched them sway side   
  
to side drunkenly, though the singers had sobered up, laughing loudly. The Midwife reentered.  
  
"Good lord, can none of you sing?" She gasped, horrified at the sound of their voices.  
  
"We're not trying, ma'am." Rick snickered. "I think Rae and Cliff are okay, if they just   
  
try to keep in tune."  
  
"That was the point of the last contest: to see if they can keep in tune. Unfortunately,   
  
Kai's voice gave me a monstrous headache. The final task is a simple fortune telling ritual.   
  
After this, you four may return to your farms and consummate your marriages."   
  
"Can I consummate my future marriage?" Harris chuckled. The Midwife growled.   
  
"No. Cliff and Rae, please come here." Nervous, Cliff and Rae held hands and stepped   
  
forward. Cliff turned around, wearing a goofy grin.  
  
"Famous last words: If the crackers are Jesus' body, our savior tastes like old paper."   
  
Rae and the Midwife both whapped their own faces, as most of everyone else snickered. "Sorry,   
  
couldn't resist."  
  
The Midwife patiently took out a basket of threads. "Pull one thread from the basket   
  
together, holding hands or such. I will tell you about your future marriage." Silently, Cliff   
  
cupped Rae's hand, and together they put their hands into the basket. They pulled out a vivid   
  
red string of silk thread. "This string, red, shows that you will have a passionate marriage,   
  
filled with emotions. You two may meet struggles, but you will always overcome. The silk of the  
  
thread shows that you will not reach a breaking point within your marriage, despite everyone's  
  
doubts. Silk looks weak, but is so hard to rip. It must be deliberately cut, and if it is cut,  
  
it frays and cannot recover. Be wary. The silk also shows offspring within a year and a half."  
  
Cliff's eyes widened. "That's all, goodnight." Rae and Cliff stepped back.   
  
"Hey, would you two wait for us, please?" Kai asked politely.   
  
"Sure, no prob." Cliff and Rae stood back as Kai and Karen pulled a string.   
  
  
  
"Peach yarn? Ah, lovely. A romantic life lies ahead of you, but be sure neither of you   
  
simply submits to the other. You both are submissive, but don't weaken. The yarn shows that   
  
though you may fight a lot, you easily forgive one another. The yarn also tells me that you   
  
may need to wait for children, seek medical assistance, or never have them." Karen clenched   
  
Kai's hand. "It seems parenthood never crossed any of your minds. Ah well, you're young. Let me   
  
know when you all need help. Goodnight." The old woman left, weary of her jaunt. Cliff took   
  
Rae's hand.  
  
"What about children now?" Was all Cliff could say.   
  
"Hee, don't worry, Cliffy." Rae teased.   
  
"I don't like the sound of that." Cliff took Rae's hand.  
  
"Let's go home... we've all had a huge day." Kai suggested. Kai took Karen's hand as   
  
well, and the four walked out of the square back to Rae's farm.   
  
TO BE CONTINUED  
  
Nayru: Well, that was a blast.  
  
Xiao: A blast that took you three months to write.   
  
Nayru: Feh... Ran-ran, let's give the readers a treat. Bring on the newlyweds!   
  
Ran-Ran: But what if they're-  
  
Nayru: Don't care.   
  
Cliff and Rae appear. Cliff is shirtless and has his toothbrush in his mouth. Rae is already in   
  
pajamas. Neither look very pleased.  
  
Cliff: Rae, where are we?  
  
Rae: The crosspoint of our authoress' inspiration. Hello, Nayru.  
  
Nayru: ^_^ Ladies and Gentlemen, our hero and heroine, Cliff and Rae!   
  
Both choose to take a bow.   
  
Nayru: Cliff, what was with your Jesus remark?  
  
Cliff: I find that when I've had too much alcohol, very random thoughts run through my head. I   
  
just happened to catch that thought, and when I pondered on it, it did make sense. The   
  
communion really does taste like old paper, you know.   
  
Nayru: -__-' So random..... Rae, are you an alcoholic? We caught you getting sloppy on your   
  
birthday, too.  
  
Rae: Alcoholism does run a little bit in my family, but I don't drink often. Unfortunately,   
  
when I do drink, I end up going overboard.   
  
Nayru: Any idea why you chose to sing in French?  
  
Rae: I dunno, actually! I had that silly song stuck in my head, and I figured it'd be quality   
  
entertainment for anyone who knew a scrap of French. I mean, if you think of Cliff as "un lapin"  
  
and think of Silas as "un chasseur", rabbit and hunter... the whole song is about a rabbit   
  
who killed a hunter with a rifle it couldn't use, so due to the events early on in the chapter,  
  
it really fits. (Chantal Goya, "Un Lapin".)  
  
Nayru: I see. Cliff, why do you wear those stupid gloves?  
  
Cliff: Because they're good for working in. They protect the hands. Is that all? Do your cat   
  
things have any questions?  
  
Xiao: We need to ask you what the next reader vote should be about.   
  
Ran-Ran: ... because we love input from our viewers about things to happen next. It   
  
personalizes the story to everyone, and that's part of what Harvest Moon is all about.   
  
Cliff: Well... here's an idea. You could just come up with some situations we could end up in,   
  
and get the crowd to vote on which one you write about.  
  
Rae: You're a genius, Cliffy! (huggles him)  
  
Cliff: (goes bright red)  
  
Nayru: That's a good idea... Here's are your choices for the next chapter!  
  
1) The Cow Breeding Fiasco!  
  
2) Puppies?  
  
3) The "Whipped" competition!   
  
Xiao: So, put in a vote for one of these subjects, and we'll write about it!  
  
Ran-Ran: Peaceout with the catlike, everyone! 


	12. The Cow Breeding Fiasco! No Need For Bre...

STORY OF A GIRL  
  
Nayru: It's back! Despite the fact that we only got one vote, we're continuing anyway! We know you like to read, but you can only see what you want in a story if we know what you want. Here's the unanimous winner of our one-vote competition!  
  
DISCLAIMER: Harvest Moon and its characters are not mine. Rae is. You don't even need to ask to borrow her.  
  
The Cow Breeding Fiasco! No Need For Breeding Potion!  
  
"Oh, Cliff, look, we got pictures!" Rae smiled happily, holding the envelope. She was exceedingly cheery, after being married to Cliff for two weeks. Her already cheery disposition had become twice as cheery. Karen was more pleasant than before her marriage. Cliff and Kai both seemed to laugh a lot more, and anyone who looked could see that the gentlemen were happier than they had been when they were alone. Whenever the couples were taking a break in public, they held hands and smiled at each other just to prove their love.  
The after effects of the party was still wearing off the townspeople. Maria was still slightly irritated at Karen and Cliff, due to the fact that they had repeatedly harrassed Gray about her, but would forgive them because they were ridiculously drunk. Ann wasn't able to turn up at the farm three days per week, due to psychiatric counselling and meeting with her lawyer. When she did come, she was friendly and quiet. Popuri came every day, and was constantly happy. She and Harris were planning a wedding two weeks after Maria and Gray's. Elli had discovered her talent in baking, just like her grandmother had possessed after making the cake all by herself. She and Andrew had built a bakehouse in a corner of the farm property, and provided fresh breads and buns every morning. Rae's grandmother assisted Elli.  
This morning, as Rae went to the fence Cliff had built for the cow and horse, she began to ponder something. "This farm is great on vegetables, right, Karen?" She asked her companion, who was fixing a broken log on the fence. Karen swept a loose strand of hair from her eyes.  
"Yup. Our vegetables are the best here and in the city across the sea!" She smiled proudly.  
"Hm. But what about our milk?" She looked at Koibito, pondering.  
"Well, we don't know yet. We only sell one gallon per day."  
"We can fix that." Rae grinned. "We're going to breed the cow!" Koibito looked up.  
"Moo?" She gave Rae a pitiful wide eyed look.  
  
Saibara was cleaning the counter when Cliff walked in. "Morning, Saibara."  
"Morning, Cliff! How's your wife?"  
"Busy and full of ideas. She got the notion to breed the cow. Is there perhaps a 'rent-a-bull' around here?" Saibara laughed.  
"No, we have a more high-tech method. The 'Miracle Potion'." He took a bottle of blue liquid off the shelf. "Just give it to the cow, and you'll get a calf. That simple." Cliff blinked, utterly confused.  
"Oh." He paid Saibara. "Thanks." He left, still utterly confused.  
  
Meanwhile, back at the ranch (literally), Koibito was waiting in her pen. The whole group of workers surrounded the cow.  
"Rae, Rae!" Popuri bounced up and joined them. "Can we have chickens too?"  
"Maybe." Rae grinned. "We've only got another year to bring this place up to scratch, winter's upon us, and we do have a lot of spare time after the work's done... maybe we'll get chickens later." Cliff joined the group.  
"I got the... 'Miracle Potion'." Cliff held it up proudly.  
"How does it work?" Rae chirped, taking it.  
"I think we... uh..." He looked at the bottle. "Well... eh heh... I dunno..."  
"Maybe we make the cow drink it, like all in one shot." Kai suggested.  
"Maybe we... put it... you know where..." Gray mumbled. He flushed furiously.  
"I know!" Ann grinned. "Maybe we toss it all over the cow!" Everyone sweatdropped. "No?"  
"I got it." Elli smiled pleasantly. "We inject it into her, like a medicine."  
"I say we make her eat or drink it. Maybe put it on top of some fodder, or put it in her water." Harris scratched his chin.  
"No, no, no, maybe we just open the bottle and a genie bull comes out!" Popuri giggled. Rae curiously opened the bottle.  
"No genie." She replied. "I guess we pick one of those methods and try it." Rae wrote down all the suggestions except Ann's and Popuri's and put them in her bandanna. She shook it up and offered it to Karen. Karen pulled one.  
"Elli's." Elli smiled and ran off to get the proper equipment.  
  
ELLI'S ATTEMPT  
  
"Okay, so here's the place where it should go in." Elli made an indentation in Koibito's fur. "Get the shot." Cliff handed the small syringe with the powder from the bottle in it. Kai abandoned his work on Harris's house to watch. Elli knelt next to Koibito. "Hold her still." Cliff and Gray held the cow as Elli inserted the needle.  
The group learned something very valuable that day: Cows hate needles. There was a blur of brown and white and a huge "MOO!" as Koibito trampled Gray, Cliff, and Elli and ran. The needle fell out.  
"Okay, injection's a big no." Rae simply shook her head. She put the other guesses back into her bandanna. Karen reached in and pulled out one.  
"Harris's."  
  
HARRIS'S ATTEMPT  
  
Rae and Cliff had caught Koibito before she caused any major destruction to the fence and were gently brushing her. Harris and Karen carried a trough of water towards them. Harris had mixed about 1/8th of the powder into the water. Koibito looked at the trough blandly. She looked into the water curiously, sniffed it.  
"She's gonna drink it..." Harris's eyes glowed eagerly.  
The group learned something else valuable: Cows can tell when someone's messed with their water. Koibito turned around and kicked the trough at Harris.  
"Doesn't work." Rae snickered as Harris blubbered like a stood-up date. Karen reached into the bandanna again.  
"Gray's." Everyone gulped nervously.  
  
GRAY'S ATTEMPT  
  
Koibito was grazing quietly, unexpectingly. Gray slipped up behind her, holding the bottle. He stared at her back end, swishing tail. He looked into the bottle, stared at Koibito again, and finally put his face in his hand.  
"I can't do it..." He dropped the bottle and went back to the pile of fodder where the rest of the group hid. "I can't do it! Haven't we learned enough about cows today?" Everyone nodded.  
"Let's just try Kai's and say to hell with it." Rae sighed.  
  
KAI'S ATTEMPT  
  
Kai stood before the cow. It was like a Midwest showdown. He held a bottle of the powder mixed with some water. Koibito had horns. She didn't look happy. Kai swallowed hard. Cautiously, he offered Koibito some of the mixture. Curiously, Koibito nosed it. Kai jumped nervously. Koibito's face ended up covered in blue slime. She cow-scowled. Kai cowered as she charged.  
"WAI, W-WAI, SAVE ME!" He ran for dear life. Andrew and Harris captured Koibito again and repenned her.  
  
It was obviously a lost cause at that point. But Rae scratched her head, pensive. She went to her last option. "Damn it all to hell..." She gave Ann the bottle. "Knock yourself out." Ann took it, grinning like she'd just eaten a bowl of good macaroni and cheese. She ran in circles around Koibito, tossing the powder all over her. Koibito looked utterly confused, covered in blue powder. Koibito sneezed, and continued grazing peacefully.  
  
The group of young men and women had fixed all the broken parts of the fence. The sun was setting over the huge farm. Harris had finished his new home and was just moving the last of his furniture in. Everything was peaceful, and Rae was doing nothing less than sitting on her roof staring at the indigo tinged sky. Karen stepped up the ladder and lay next to her. "Huge day, eh?"  
"Right on." Rae smirked in a cool way. "Perfect for sitting on the roof and watching the sun go down."  
"So, what'll we do about the cow?"  
"Well, I guess we'll find out if she's pregnant in a few weeks."  
"Cool beans." Cliff joined them on the roof.  
"Wow. This is an awesome view." Cliff whistled.  
"What, us, or the sunset?" Karen joked.  
"Both." Cliff teased. "Tough decision."  
"This could get kinky." Karen laughed. Kai joined them.  
"Wow. Lookit the sun."  
"We'll burn our eyes, stupid." Rae rolled her eyes.  
"Oh well." Kai grinned.  
"Well, today was a great day." Rae sat up, satisfied. "I think that when we pick up again, we'll have another great misadventure." Cliff sat up as well.  
"Well, what'll we do then?"  
Karen smiled eagerly. "We could always experiment with the fall grapes."  
"Or we could insert a random festival." Kai suggested. "Like a horse race."  
"Or we could always cause some turmoil between the girls and guys on the ranch." Cliff added.  
"Yeah, that sounds good. Til then... let's go continue working on our plans for the future, Cliffy." And with that, Rae dragged Cliff wearing a macaroni and cheese grin off the roof.  
  
______________________________________________________________________  
  
Nayru: You ask for it and you get it! Ran-Ran: Here are your choices for the next chapter!  
  
1) Grapes=Wine? 2) The Horse Race! 3) Battle of the Sexes!  
  
Xiao: Peaceout with the catlike, everyone! 


	13. Cliff and Rae in a Fight! No Need for a ...

STORY OF A GIRL  
  
Nayru: This chapter took so long because I was waiting for just one more vote...  
  
Ran-Ran: But she got it, and it was for BATTLE OF THE SEXES!  
  
Xiao: Enjoy, and remember to vote for the next chapter!  
  
Chapter 13: Cliff and Rae in a Fight?! No Need For A Contest!  
  
"Cliff, quit leaving these in the kitchen!" An irritable Rae glared at Cliff over a pile of monster toys. (1)  
"I swear to god, I didn't put them there!" Cliff was innocently brushing Dix on the couch. The sun was setting. Rae had, as usual, had a long day, but as the prediction was rain tomorrow, Rae had to push Koibito in. Unfortunately, Koibito was both pregnant, fat, and stubborn. It was obvious she had no intention on being lenient with Cliff. Dix jumped off Cliff's lap and hid.  
"Clifford Hawk, this is the third time. If you want to play with these in the sink, you dry them off and put them back to wherever they go."  
"But they go in the sink!" He wailed.  
"No, they DON'T... Ugh, I give up. This makes my head hurt... Did you get to fixing that leak?" Rae sunk down at the table, head in hands.  
"I was busy! I had no time or energy!" Cliff knew he was in trouble now.  
"ARGH! AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO RAIN TOMORROW!" Rae glared at him. "Honestly! You should have more passion for work!"  
"I have plenty passion for work!" Cliff cried angrily. "You get tired pushing one cow around!"  
"I'll have you know that cows weigh 600 pounds!"  
"And you don't?" Cliff retorted. A second later, as Rae stared at him in horror, Cliff realized he'd done WRONG. "I didn't mean that, I-"  
"THAT'S IT!" Rae screamed. She gave him a look to break stone. "I DO NOT want to see HIDE nor HAIR of you in this house right now."  
"Sorry dear, I'm so so sorr-"  
"Get out." Rae's eyes were teary, Cliff could see. He reached towards her. "OUT." Cliff hung his head, and walked out quietly.  
  
"How dare that man!" Cliff heard Karen cry from his house, about 50 yards away. Popuri, Karen, Ann, Maria, and Elli had all rushed over to her house a minute after Cliff got into Kai's house.  
"Cliff, how could you be that stupid?" Kai stared at Cliff, eyebrow raised.  
"She got on my nerves." Cliff folded his arms. "I apologized."  
"Cliff, you know how those six act." Andrew frowned. "They're Dominoes."  
Cliff thought a moment, as Gray set up six Dominoes. He nudged the first one slightly. "If you tip one off..."  
The whole stack fell, and every male in the room groaned.  
"Nice going, Cliff."  
"You are SO stupid."  
"Elli's not going to talk to me for WEEKS!"  
"Ugggh..."  
"She called me lazy!" Cliff cried angrily. All men jumped up with fire in their eyes.  
"We're not lazy!" They all yelled at once.  
"We do as much as they do!"  
"She's begging for a challenge!"  
"That's a good idea..." Rick smirked. "I've got an idea to prove Cliff right." The six men leaned down and got to work.  
  
Karen answered a knock on the door. It was a very frightened looking Stu. "Yes?" Karen smiled sweetly.  
"Message from Mr. Kai." He tremblingly offered her a letter. "Don't kill me!" He hid.  
"Oh, wonderful." Karen rolled her eyes. She snatched the letter.  
  
"To the Girls;  
This is a declaration of war for the following offenses:  
  
Calling our comrade lazy. Kicking same comrade out of his house. Automatically getting mad at our union.  
  
Meet us on the field tomorrow to arrange war plans.  
  
The Guys"  
  
Karen burst out laughing, and showed the letter to Rae.  
"What the hell're they on to?" Rae passed it to the other girls.  
"I dunno. What do we do?"  
"We meet them tomorrow and find out what this is."  
  
The next morning, Rae woke up in a mess of blankets. The girls had all chosen to sleep on Rae's floor that night. The sun had barely risen. Pushing Popuri, who was cuddled against Rae, she stood and shook her hair out and brushed it a little, and tied it into braids. She wore red ribbons, for war spirit. She looked at her reflection in her bathroom mirror, and smiled confidently. Promptly, she turned into the toilet and lost her last night's dinner out of sheer nervousness.  
Karen was the first girl outside. Five of the six gentlemen were standing in a line, wearing black sunglasses. Cliff hung behind them, still wearing sunglasses, but not appearing as confident. Karen glared at them. Kai simply smirked.  
"She don't look too happy." He murmured.  
"I'm not sure about this." Cliff replied quietly. "They're stronger than you think."  
"It's not physical, Cliff. A few simple tests. Just to prove that we're better!" Popuri, Ann, Elli, and Maria lined up beside Karen, and Rae exited, shaking nervously. "Cha, look, they're weak already."  
"What do you WANT, Kai?" Karen yelled.  
"We demand a challenge!"  
"How many?!"  
"One! It's a Battle of the Sexes! We're going to prove that Cliff is sensitive and Rae needs to apologize!"  
"So?! We're going to prove that Rae's right and Cliff's a jerk!"  
Kai and Karen argued quickly, then shook hands. They grabbed a chalkboard from inside and hung it from a tree, and drew a chart, and they both wrote up a list of questions.  
  
Kai started. "Rae, when is Cliff's birthday?" Rae barely had to think.  
"Winter 19th." The guys booed.  
"Cliff, how much does Rae weigh?" Karen inquired. Cliff scowled slightly.  
"132." The girls booed.  
"Wrong, we checked last night, she's 137!" The girls cheered, as Rae blushed embarrassedly. "1-0!"  
"Rae, what color are Cliff's underwear?" Gray asked.  
"They're white."  
"Nope, they're black!" He gave Cliff a wedgie to prove it. The girls burst out laughing. "1-0."  
"Cliff, during the wedding, we forced Rae to remove all her jewelry, ribbons, and other accessories that she always wears. Which is the one thing she refused to take off until we forced her?" Elli smirked.  
"Her bandanna!" Cliff grinned after thinking a minute. "Same one, every day, for 3 seasons running."  
"Lucky guess." Elli grumbled. "1-1."  
"Rae, describe Cliff." Andrew smiled at her. Rae thought a moment.  
"Cute, funny, handsome, immature, energetic, and downright sweet." She recited.  
Andrew shrugged. "1-2."  
"Cliff, what is the one thing Rae cannot do?" Ann asked.  
"Cook!" He answered instantly.  
"Wrong. She can't write neatly." Ann held up Rae's diary. "Somehow, these entries keep getting farther apart... 1-2 still."  
"Rae, where did Cliff get Kane?" Rick glared at Rae slightly. Rae thought for a few minutes. "Answer..."  
"Ah... I don't know!" She cried.  
"Found him abandoned as a baby." Rick stepped back, proud of himself.  
  
"Cliff, how did you meet Rae?" Popuri giggled.  
"I wandered here on her first day in town, she offered me a place to stay."  
"2-2."  
"Rae, why did you agree to marry Cliff?" Harris asked.  
"Because I love him."  
"3-2."  
"Cliff, why did you ask Rae to marry you?" Maria asked the last question.  
"Because I love her."  
"3-3! Game over, it's... a tie!" Karen gasped in surprise. Both sides blinked in confusion. "This... solved... nothing." Rae laughed. Cliff did the same.  
Minutes later, Rae wandered off to water the plants as Karen and Kai put away the chalk board. Cliff followed her.  
"I am so sorry about yesterday." He babbled the second he was next to her.  
"... Hn." She sighed in response. They watered the plants together.  
"Rae..." They went for the last plant together. They stared at each other. He hugged her.  
"I'm sorry too. I don't know what came over me yesterday, I just felt so... out of it." She smiled. "Go feed the cow." Grinning, Cliff walked away. Rae stared at the sky thoughtfully.  
"I wonder..." Rae giggled. "Yeah right!"  
  
That evening, the sun set into pink clouds. Rae and Cliff were sitting on the roof.  
"What a day." Cliff remarked. "Dark clouds passed over us, thankfully."  
"Yup, and the sun seems to be setting nicely." Cliff took her hand.  
"Ann said you got sick this morning."  
"I have no idea why. Probably something I ate, or just nervous." Rae shrugged.  
"Hm... So what will we do next time this story picks up again?" Karen and Kai joined them on the roof.  
"It'll probably be Winter, so what's the adventure?" Rae looked at Karen and Kai.  
"Won't the mine be open? I bet we could get in trouble in there!" Karen giggled.  
"Isn't there a haunted house near the edge of town? I've always wanted to check it out, but I'm not brave enough." Kai suggested.  
"My birthday is coming up soon, maybe it'll pick up around then." Cliff grinned. "Could a birthday party possibly go wrong?"  
"I dunno. We'll have to find out next time!" Rae grinned. "But can we go have a private discussion, away from our audience's prying eyes?" Cliff and Rae left the roof and went inside.  
"So how do we close this?" Karen asked Kai. Kai shrugged, and struck a charismatic pose.  
"See you next time on STORY OF A GIRL!"  
  
1: Minimal Excel Saga reference. Give credit where credit is due...  
  
To be continued...  
  
Nayru: Your options are:  
  
1) Happy Birthday to Cliff! 2) Cave Exploration 101 3) The Ghost of Rosebud Village  
  
Xiao: Please vote! 


	14. The Disastrous Cave Exploration! No Need...

Story Of A Girl  
  
Chapter 14: The Disastrous Cave Exploration! No Need For Apples!  
  
"Hey Rae!" Rae blinked her eyes open at a call from the window. Rae tumbled out of bed and looked outside. Karen was standing on snow-covered ground. Blearily, Rae tore the page off her calendar. Fall was definitely over. "Look, Rae, it's snowed! Winter came last night!" Rae looked as Karen danced around in the snow covered field. "Come play with us!" She suddenly got hit by a snowball.  
"Down in a few, Karen." Rae called back.  
"HURRY UP, THE BOYS ARE WINNING!" Karen yelled.  
Rae moaned, and staggered into the bathroom, throwing up again. "Third-" She hurled- "time-" She spit a few times to clear the taste- "this week." She sighed, and washed her mouth out. "And it's only the third day in this week, so..." Sighing miserably again, she walked downstairs. Cliff was waiting at the table, reading the mail.  
"Good morning. Did you get sick again?" Smiling, he pushed a mug of warm milk towards her.  
"Yeah." She sipped on the milk slowly.  
"Alright. You're not going out and playing today."  
"What?!" Rae cried indignantly.  
"Well, you're obviously sick!" He folded his arms.  
"Cliff, I was planning on going to the mine today. Please..."  
"Okay, okay, you can go to the mine... AFTER you get yourself some medicine." Rae jumped up excitedly. "Be a good girl, run down to Andrew's. Just say you've got stomach problems. And don't forget your coat!"  
Happily, Rae bounced outside and to Andrew's house and store. It had been built with two stories, and he lived on the top floor with Elli. They were getting married in just a few weeks, but via marriage certificate and not an actual wedding. They didn't want anything big, after viewing the insanity at Cliff and Rae's wedding. Rae bounced in.  
"Halloo!" She chirped, trying to hide her languidity.  
"Hi Rae!" Elli looked up from the desk. "What are you looking for?"  
"Nausea medicine, something to prevent puking."  
"Hm, I know you've been sick..." She put a hand on Rae's forehead. "No fever, but... sure, gimme a sec." Elli went into the storage. Rae eyed the shelves, when a small box caught her eye. She grabbed it.  
"What's the harm?" Elli came back with a box of medicine. Rae made her purchase, and left.  
  
"Okay, everyone, I'm getting a team together to explore the caves up in the mountains!" Rae called enthusiastically. Everyone was covered from head to toe in snow. Cliff was trying to get it out of his hair. Karen was picking it out of her shirt. Maria and Popuri were shaking out their skirts. "Who wants to come?!" Karen, Cliff, Kai, Gray, and Ann all raised their hands. "Okay... I'll take... Kai, Karen, and Gray!" Gray did an awkward happy dance, while Kai and Karen high-fived. Cliff looked hurt.  
"Rae, why not me?"  
"Silly, so I can have you come rescue me if I get in trouble!"  
"Good point." Cliff smiled. "Don't get in trouble, please!" He hugged her.  
"Nobody's been up in those mines in years. Exercise utmost caution." Maria smiled.  
"We will!" Karen grinned. "Let's go!"  
They each grabbed a hoe and a helmet with a light on it. "Bye! We'll be back by sundown!" The four left.  
  
Karen and Rae walked a little ahead. Rae was obviously deep in thought. "Hey Karen... why did Cliff become a criminal? Is it that wrong to break a girl's heart?"  
"No, but it is against the law to intentionally impregnate a girl before marriage here, and Cliff found out the hard way. Ann got pregnant, and had to have an abortion. The Mayor cleared his name recently when they found out he had used protection. Ann did it intentionally. She wanted a baby." Rae slightly blanched. "Ann's father still blames him."  
"I see." She nodded.  
"Ann had some problems. She missed her mother a lot, and her father was depressed. Ann's on depression medicine, and she really needs it. I'm glad she's found Rick to remain attached to, because she really needs someone to lean on..."  
Kai and Gray walked behind the two girls. "So, Kai... " Gray looked at him. "... I know your secret."  
"... How'd you find out?" Kai replied.  
"I overheard you and Karen talking about it. Didn't the Midwife say that..."  
"We dealt with that... but we're not sure yet... Listen, man, PLEASE don't tell anyone. Nobody was supposed to find out about it yet... "  
"You can trust me." They reached the mountains.  
"Wow, they're so BIG!" Karen cried excitedly. Rae was babbling in another language.  
"Waku-waku, waku-waku, waku-waku..."  
"I think that means she's excited." Kai snickered.  
"Who wouldn't be? They're.... awe-inspiring." Gray looked up at the great black mountains.  
"THEY'RE AWESOME!" Rae squealed. "Let's go!"  
"Wait, there's some safety rules. Cave Exploring 101!" Gray took a calm breath. "One, the ladders set in the higher chambers are so you can get to deeper chambers. Don't jump down a hole, always bring a ladder. Two, don't overwork yourself. You need the strength to climb out. Three, if it starts getting hard to breathe, get out. Four, tread lightly. You never know when the floor will break under you. Five, if you're in trouble, yell for help. Someone will come. Echoes are good in this cave."  
"Okay!" Karen, Rae, and Kai nodded. The four split up, and began to wander the great caves, using the hoe to break out every rare stone they saw.  
  
The mining was exciting for a first time. Karen found a room practically made out of iron. She couldn't fit all of it into her pack, but picked the nicest pieces. Gray and Kai found a lake at the bottom of the mine, and fished for an hour. They caught a few catfish. Rae managed to collect a little of everything. The entire group made it to the bottom, and went back up.  
  
Rae, Kai, Karen, and Gray met at an intersection after five hours of work.  
"It's getting close to sundown. Let's start heading back." Gray turned around. Karen looked behind her one last time. She saw a huge block of metal.  
"Wow..." Karen walked towards it.  
"Karen, don't!" Rae ran towards her. Karen tried to hoe the metal out. The floor broke beneath Rae and Karen's feet.  
"RAE! KAREN!" Kai shouted as they fell down about ten feet. Gray gasped.  
"The ladders don't reach that far!" Kai's eyes filled with tears.  
"Karen!" Rae shook her head, recovering from the fall. Karen moaned; her leg was twisted in a strange direction. "We're going to go for help." Gray grabbed Kai. "We'll get a longer ladder. Don't move."  
"I can't leave Karen alone!" Kai cried.  
"Kai, please, go! The sooner you go, the sooner she can get out." Rae yelled.  
"Fine..." Kai murmured, and he and Gray ran. Rae looked at Karen as she got out of her daze.  
"Rae, I'm sorry..." Karen hugged Rae.  
"..."  
"Are you okay?"  
"..." Rae nuzzled against Karen. "I want my Cliff."  
"I know."  
"If we die down here, there's something I'll never be able to tell him."  
"Don't say die... What won't you be able to tell him?"  
"I got this strange idea this morning, when I was getting nausea medicine... and so I got this." Rae took a little box out of her pack. "See?"  
"... Oh, jeez." Karen sighed. "I got that same funny idea a few days ago."  
"Well, /shit/." Rae sighed. They curled up against one another. "It's so cold..."  
  
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, in the most literal sense...  
  
Cliff was throttling Kai. "HOWCOULDYOULETRAEANDKARENGETINTOTHISMESSYOUIIIIJOT!" He shouted. Gray and Harris were looking for a ladder.  
"It's not my fault! Karen thought she could get that rock, Rae was trying to-"  
"You could have saved Rae!"  
"I didn't see it happen!" Kai whimpered.  
"Bad news." Gray cut in. "There's no 10 foot ladder."  
"WELL, /SHIT/!" Cliff yelled. He stormed off. "I'll go save them myself!"  
"Gray, what do we do?"  
"We'll make a rope ladder. Go get some rope, I'll get started with what we have here." Gray held up a coil of rope.  
  
In the caves, 3 hours in the hole, literally...  
  
"RAE! KAREN!" Rae was almost asleep when she heard the echoes. "CALL BACK!"  
"Karen, someone..."  
"RAE! KAREN!"  
"I hear it..." Karen yelled back. "WE'RE DOWN HERE!"  
"DAMMIT, WHICH WAY IS THAT?!" Rae and Karen both laughed.  
"It's Cliff, alright! CLIFF, WE'RE DOWN VERY FAR!" Rae giggled.  
"THAT DOESN'T HELP!"  
"JUST GO DOWN!" Karen yelled.  
"FINE!"  
"Cliff... keep talking!" Rae called.  
"Why?"  
"So we'll know when you're getting closer! Plus, it'll keep us awake, we don't want to fall asleep!"  
"Alright!"  
"Rae, you do realize he's not really going to talk, right?"  
"Then what will he do?"  
"I long to see the sunlight in your hair... and tell you time and time again... how much I care..." His voice echoed.  
"Oh wow, he's singing!" Karen sighed dreamily.  
"That's enough to keep anyone awake!" Rae giggled.  
"Rae... it just started to get harder to breathe..."  
"Oh crap..."  
  
One hour later...  
  
"... and the boy says, 'No, I'm just trying to figure out the price!'" Rae and Karen laughed. Cliff's voice had gradually grown louder. "You girls still okay?"  
"We're fine, Cliff, the air's just... thinning a little... hurry, please!" Suddenly, footsteps sounded.  
"Dead end..." Cliff looked around the section he had reached.  
"NO, CLIFF, YOU'RE CLOSE!" Rae cried.  
"Rae!" Cliff ran to the edge of the pit. "Karen!"  
"Cliff!" Both girls cried.  
"RAE, KAREN!" Kai and Gray ran in with a rope ladder. They accidentally knocked Cliff in.  
"Ow... guys, hurry, the air down here is empty!" Cliff coughed a little. He latched onto Rae.  
"Cliff, carry Karen up, her leg is messed up." Cliff grumbled, and carried Karen up the ladder. Kai hugged her. Rae climbed up the ladder. Cliff reattached himself to her.  
"Come on... let's get out of here." Gray smiled. They followed Gray out of the cave. Whereas it took Cliff two hours, it took Gray about ten minutes.  
  
Late that night, Rae, Cliff, and Kai were sitting on Cliff's roof. They were covered with a blanket.  
"Brisk night, eh Rae?" Cliff looked at the smaller blonde.  
"Mm?" Rae was munching on an apple.  
"Haha, enjoy your fruit. You look hungry." Cliff turned to Kai. "Next time... what're we gonna do?"  
"Well, your birthday needs to be celebrated." Kai smirked.  
"Yeah, and maybe we could get a greenhouse." Cliff smiled. "We'll play around in there."  
"Or there could be some sort of funny crime streak that we'll inevitably solve." Kai nodded.  
"Yeah, that sounds good."  
"I better go check on Karen. By the way, Rae, wasn't there something you wanted to tell Cliff? Good night." He went off the roof and to his house.  
"Rae?" Cliff looked at her. Rae swallowed her bite of apple.  
"Well... let's see... we made 10000 G today, I ordered a chicken yesterday, we're getting it tomorrow, I'm pregnant, and I figured out how to make apple cider. Would you like a bite of my apple?"  
"... repeat that third one?"  
"Try the apple!"  
"No, what did you say?"  
"Apples are good for you..."  
"Did you say you were-"  
"Yes." Rae smiled widely. "How 'bout them apples?" She kissed a shocked Cliff on the forehead, and slid inside.  
"Well... /SHIT/." Cliff stood to chase Rae inside. "We'll see you next time, in the only story where someone can get away with something like THAT, STORY OF A GIRL!" Cliff dashed inside.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Nayru: Your choices for next time's episode are:  
  
1) Cliff's Birthday! 2) The Greenhouse! 3) The Masked Bandit!  
  
Xiao: Review and vote! 


	15. The Masked Bandit! No Need For Cake!

STORY OF A GIRL  
  
Nayru: You wanted more, you asked for more, SO HERE IT IS MOOOOOORE! I decided to do both The Masked Bandit and Cliff's Birthday at once. HAVE FUN!  
  
Chapter 15: The Masked Bandit! No Need For Cake!  
  
"Cliff, honey, have you seen my brooch?" Rae called from the bedroom.  
"Which one?"  
"The blue one!"  
"It's exactly where you left it, dear." Cliff called from the kitchen. "It should be on the bathroom dresser."  
"Well, it's NOT!" She called back. Cliff put down his newspaper.  
"Are you sure?" He bounced up the stairs. "I swear I saw you take it off in there." Cliff skidded into their bedroom, where Rae was brushing her hair out. He paused to watch her. He liked watching her brushing her hair; it was pretty long, falling delicately to her waist, making it impossible to brush. She ran her brush through her hair, forcing it through the bottom. He couldn't help but lean against the door, sighing deeply. She was so beautiful, and he knew it. He had no intention of denying his lovely wife of four months that she was the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on. But now, she was pouting, which slightly defiled her beauty. "Uh... I'll go look."  
"Oh, you goofball." Rei hugged him around the waist. "It's your birthday! I'll go look." Smiling, she waltzed out of the room. "A lot of stuff's gone missing over the past few days... like... my TV remote, that sandwich, a few forks, your present..."  
"What?!"  
"Oops, did I say 'present'?" She giggled. "There's no present." Cliff frowned, thinking for a minute.  
"Hmm, if you say so." He slowly smirked. "Well... I'll go look for my pres- er, your brooch. For now... can I braid it?" He smiled cutely, begging to get his fingers through her hair.  
"Sure thing, sweets." She sat down, and he happily began to braid her hair. She grinned, as he tightened the knots. "So, guess what?"  
"What?" He replied, reaching for a hair tie.  
"Andrew left the results of my tests yesterday in the mailbox. Nice of him, to deliver."  
"Anything important?"  
"Nothing huge, actually, just showed that the EPT proved right, and the baby's completely fine." Rae grinned proudly.  
"Always good." Cliff smiled happily, thinking of what was coming in the months ahead. Rae was going to be the mother of his child in only six months. Neither had planned it, and neither cared. What mattered to them was that they were happily married, with only the occasional... okay, nightly... arguments over their pillows; Cliff had a fetish for stealing her fluffier pillow and hiding it, leaving her with his flat pillow, and then going right to sleep. Usually, she'd yell at him to find it, he'd grumble that he was trying to sleep, and eventually, she'd force him to get it back. They'd never say their marriage was perfect; Cliff was immature, and Rae was too excitable. They didn't care; they loved each other.  
"Of course it's good. Now, I gotta know, when are we going to get started on the baby's room?"  
"Uhm, I'm gonna go find your brooch now!" He grabbed his shoes and dashed out of the room.  
"Clifford!"  
"Bye honey!" Cliff dashed towards Karen's house. He banged on the door.  
"Kai, open up!"  
"KAI, GET OUT! AND GO FIND MY BRA, DAMMIT!"  
"Yeargh!" Kai got kicked right past Cliff. Karen stood in the door, scowling.  
"THAT WAS MY LAST CLEAN ONE! NOW GO FIND WHERE YOU HID IT!" Kai panted nervously, as she slammed the door huffily.  
"Lemme guess... it's gone and you have NO idea where it is." Cliff giggled.  
"Right! She didn't put it away, tossed it next to the window, and in the morning, it was gone!"  
"Funny. Rae left her favorite brooch on her dresser, and it's gone."  
"That's not all." Harris walked up. "A book, a set of potholders, and a folder of crime reports."  
"A recipe book, and a pie, pan and all!" Andrew exclaimed. "And three boxes of gloves. Gone."  
"Not to mention a packet of seeds, four plates, and a paintbrush." Gray growled. "Someone's been pilfering our stuff!"  
"Then we have to go find it, before our beloved ones decide it's our faults." Cliff rolled his eyes.  
"Guy's, lets check out the crime scenes." The gentlemen nodded, and each ran off to each other's houses.  
  
Cliff discovered fresh pawprints in the snow outside Kai's bedroom window; some sort of small animal had been there. There were no other clues. He sighed, getting off the roof. Gray only found pawprints outside Andrew's kitchen window. Harris examined Gray's house, only finding pawprints as well. Kai examined Harris' house, and still only found pawprints. Andrew examined around Cliff's house, still the only interesting thing being pawprints. Putting it simply; none of them had any clues. They rendevouzed in the center of the field.  
"Nothing. None of us have anything."  
"Wait." Cliff cut in. "We all found pawprints. Maybe they're the clues we need?"  
"Maybe..." Andrew looked around, and noticed a trail of the pawprints. "Let's follow those. Maybe they'll lead us to our bandit." The five boys ran along the trail into the woods. They followed it for nearly half an hour into the forest.  
"Here's where the trail ends." Kai stopped in front of a big tree with a hole in it. They looked into the hole.  
"Aw, look! A raccoon family!" Andrew gasped.  
"With our stuff being used as a nest." Cliff pointed out. "We found our masked bandit."  
"Well... what can we do?" Harris wondered. "They need it."  
"I know." Cliff grinned. "Let's go grab some old sheets."  
  
An hour and a half later, the five boys returned to the tree with a bunch of old sheets. As each man took out their belongings, they'd carefully replace it with a sheet. Finally, the raccoons had a proper nest, and the guys had all their things back; and Cliff had a box. There was a note attached to it.  
"This was the best place for me to hide your present, because I know you'd never interrupt a family. The raccoons didn't mind at all, though. I worked hard to pick this out for you. I love you, enjoy your present! ~ Rae" Cliff read out loud, smiling. He looked at the gold-foil-wrapped box. Slowly, he opened it. A small whistle fell out. He read the note attached to it. "Animal call. Emits a sound that will call birds and animals." He grinned. "My wife can read me like a book."  
"Or maybe she knows you love animals." Kai laughed. "Happy birthday, dude!"  
"Happy birthday, Cliff!" Five voices chorused. The five turned around to see their wives and fiancees. Rae grinned. She was holding a cake with twenty-three candles. He grinned. Karen set up two portable picnic tables. Elli put up benches.  
"Of course we had to get creative." Elli giggled, setting plates and forks. Rae set the cake down.  
"Come on, it's lunchtime already, let's eat!" Mary smiled happily, and the group sat and began to eat the cake.  
"Was the whole masked bandit thing a setup?" Gray asked Popuri.  
"Truthfully? Yes." She giggled. "We actually found the nest a week ago, after some crops went missing, and specifically set certain items in places they could steal it from. They stole it for us, so we sent you after it." The girls giggled.  
"Nice, girls." Cliff laughed. "Let's eat!"  
The entire group sat, and chorused, "Happy birthday to you..."  
Rae, Karen, Kai, Andrew, and Popuri split off with "You live in a zoo..."  
"Happy birthday to you..." The rest sang.  
"You look like a monkey..." Rae, Karen, Andrew, Popuri, and Kai sang.  
"Happy birthday dear Clifford... Happy birthday to you!"  
"And you smell like one too!"  
"And many moooooore!" Rae finished. The group laughed, and ate the cake. All in all, Cliff recieved a hawk leash from Gray and Popuri, a new set of belts from Andrew and Elli, a new pair of work boots from Ann and Rick, and an acoustic guitar from Rae, Karen, and Kai. Cliff was more than happy with his presents; glomping onto each person in turn and asphixiating them until he moved onto the next person. Rae hadn't seem him smile that much since their wedding day.  
  
Late that night, Cliff, Karen, and Kai were sitting on the roof with cups of hot cocoa.  
"What a day." Cliff grinned.  
"It was fun, wasn't it?" Karen looked at him.  
"Yeah, definitely." Cliff nodded.  
"So, what do we do next time?"  
"Well... we could check out the haunted house down by the harbor." Cliff suggested.  
"Oh, and that chicken we're getting... what are we going to do with that?" Karen asked.  
"And what about Dix? I've seen her with that dog at the ranch." Kai added.  
"Well, that sounds good. Let's let the reviewers decide, eh?" Cliff nodded.  
"Sounds good to me!" Karen nodded.  
"Right, so... we'll see you next time on Story of a Girl!" Cliff laughed.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Nayru: Sorry about the long wait; I was busy with some other projects.  
  
Xiao: Your choices are!  
  
1) The Haunted House 2) Chicken Caper 3) Dix and the Wolf  
  
Nayru: See you soon! 


	16. Dix and the Wolf! No Need For Christmas!

Story Of A Girl  
  
Nayru: EEK! NO UPDATES IN ALMOST THREE MONTHS! MUST POST NEW CHAPTER NOW!!!!  
  
Chapter 15: Dix And The Wolf! No Need For Christmas!  
  
Cliff burst in, snow still clinging to his hair. He carried a bundle of presents and cards along with a box of firewood. Christmas was approaching rapidly, the Christmas Eve rising, and they had barely started with their gifts. Rae had her hair tied back with tinsel and ribbons; the ones that were supposed to go on the gifts. Holly and mistletoe was hung all over the house, and Cliff often followed Rae under the mistletoe for the purpose of a quick kiss. Their life was happy, and as the holidays neared, they couldn't be happier.  
"Rae, please grab something!" Cliff cried cheerfully under the stack. Rae stood up, and took a large stack of presents from him. He noticed that she was in her Santa outfit. She was too slim for most of it, but the top fit her fine, especially around the "big bowl of jelly" part. She was about three and a half months pregnant, and it was obvious. "Thanks, love. Let's wrap these, and then we'll go out and do the tree!"  
"No problem Cliff... wow, my first Christmas on the farm, and I'm spending it with you! How much better can this get?"  
"I dunno..." Cliff grabbed a prewrapped package, and put it under the tree they had inside. He hung a tag that read "Do Not Open Til X-Mas".  
"Is that for me, dear?"  
"Nope, not for you! Don't touch!" He put another present under the tree, prewrapped. He began to wrap some of the others. "And I got everything you put on the list. Did you get the work on the farm done?"  
"Yeah! Took care of the cow, fed the dog, cleaned the house, brushed the horse..."  
"Where is Dix, anyway?"  
"I don't know." Rae shrugged. "I'm sure she's around."  
"Where is around?" Cliff rose an eyebrow as he tied a bow.  
"She always turns up."  
"If you say so." Cliff put the present under the tree. As he started another, Rae sighed deeply.  
"Our finances are low. We might have trouble if we can't pick them up."  
"How low?"  
"We're about... a hundred gold away from debt."  
"Shit..." Cliff sighed. "And then the presents..."  
"And then the baby..."  
"We could be in big trouble." Cliff rubbed his forehead.  
"Well... cheer up! It's Christmas!" Rae smiled brightly. "We'll make it somehow!"  
"Somehow..." Cliff mumbled, looking at the ground.  
"Rae! Cliff!" Karen called from outside the door. "You can wrap your gifts later, come and help put the popcorn and lights on the tree!"  
"Coming!" Rae called, leaping to her feet and running outside the door. "Lookit me, I'm Mrs Claus!" Cliff heard  
  
Karen laugh as she and Rae walked away. Cliff followed behind them, eyes drifting to the presents that he wished he hadn't bought.  
  
"Two-three-four! Ding-dong, ding-dong, raise a glass and pour the punch, all the carolers right up front to celebrate the birth of the new year! Two-three-four! Ding-dong, ding-dong, raise a glass and pour the punch, all the carolers right up front to celebrate the birth of the new year! Ding-dong, ding-dong..." Kai, Harris, and Rick were all singing ridiculously cheerfully, waving glasses of eggnog in the air. Elli and Ann were hanging popcorn strings on the enormous Christmas tree in the center of the field, giggling. Mary and Gray were hanging bright star lights from the bigger branches. Karen and Rae had begun to hang cranberry strings and bulbs. Cliff stared at the tree, looming over him in the night sky.  
"Wow...!" He whispered.  
"Cliffy!" Kai cried eagerly. "Drink up, man! Every last one of us is flat broke this Christmas, so let's not waste this!" He tossed Cliff a bottle of rum and a jug of egg nog.  
"You guys too?" Cliff chuckled.  
"Ah, everyone's broke this time of year, don't you sweat it!" Karen called down from her ladder. She was slightly off balance- her stomach just as stretched as Rae's. "Trust me, once the cow milks again, we'll be rolling again!"  
"Heh, yeah... why worry? It is Christmas." Cliff smiled. Just then, a grey wolf trotted onto the farm, carrying a wolf pup in his jaw. Cliff dropped the jug in fright. "Guys... that's a wolf." He pointed, and they all looked. The group fell silent and still, as the wolf nosed a giant pit in the snow, and placed the pup in it. A smaller wolf put a pup in as well. The two wolves went back and forth, bringing pups from elsewhere into the pit. Finally, the small wolf laid on the pups. Rae watched, her eyes narrow.  
"I just realized something. Dix is still missing. And there are wolves about."  
".... You think they..." Karen looked at her.  
"I think I've lost my dog." Rae whispered.  
"Let's go look for her." Karen smiled, patting Rae on the shoulder. They jumped off the ladder, causing both Cliff and Kai to jump in panic.  
"I'll go with." Gray rose, and ran off the farm, with Karen and Rae following. They were calling Dix's name. Cliff grumbled.  
"She worries now that the dog is eaten?"  
  
The tree was almost fully decorated by the time Gray, Rae, and Karen returned.  
"No sign of Dix." Rae sighed. Cliff hugged her consolatively.  
"It's alright... we'll get a new dog..."  
"I don't want a new dog, I want my Dix!" Just then, there was a bark. "DIX!" Rae cried, running towards the barking; and the makeshift wolf's den.  
"Rae, don't!"  
"DIX!" Rae leaned into the den, and Cliff ran towards her. "Look, Dix!" Indeed, Dix was sitting in the den, the pups attached to her. "Look, look, Dix has puppies!"  
"With the wolf?!" Cliff cried in shock.  
"Yeah, wolves and dogs are related." Rae grinned, petting Dix happily. "We have wolfies!"  
"Oh great... well, maybe we'll have a merry Christmas after all. We have our dog back." Cliff smiled awkwardly. "And we still have each other." Just then, the church bells rang in midnight, striking twelve pristine bells that echoed through the clear night. "Merry Christmas, Rae."  
"You too, Cliffy."  
  
That morning, Rae bounced out of bed, and to Cliff's side of the bed.  
"It's morning! It's Christmas moooooorning! Wakey wakey presents presents funtime yes yay!"  
"Mmrr... innaminit...." Cliff yawned widely, scratching himself.  
"PREEEEESENTS! I got you a present, present, present!"  
"Prsns?"  
"Yeah, presents! I'll go make your coffee!" Rae bounced away, flowers and sunshine all over. Cliff rolled out of bed, regretting the egg nog.  
"How are you so chipper?" He yawned again, stretching out.  
"I slept well! You toss and turn a lot, silly!"  
"Mhm... do you want your present first... or the baby's?" Cliff asked, as he trotted down the stairs.  
"The baby's? You got the baby a present?" Rae handed Cliff a cup of coffee, looking surprised, leaning out of the kitchen.  
"Of course. Here's yours." Cliff smiled, handing Rae a box. Rae opened it, and took a book out of it.  
"Wow... Utopia!" She threw her arms around his neck, hugging him. "I've heard this book was great!"  
"Heh... I knew you'd like that." He kissed her on the forehead. "Now for your present." Rae took a box out of her pocket and handed it to Cliff.  
  
"Ooooh...!" He grinned, stripping the paper off the box. "A pocket watch!" He chuckled, taking it out of his pocket.  
"So you'll always have a little time for yourself." Rae grinned. Cliff laughed happily, and took the small box he'd put a "Do Not Open Til X- mas" tag on the night before and handed it to Rae.  
"I'll need no time for me." He clipped the watch to his belt. "That one is for the baby." Rae opened it, and took out a key. She looked at Cliff, raising an eyebrow.  
"Isn't it usually a plastic keyring...?"  
"Rae... remember the large locked closet we have in our room? The one we don't use?" He smiled.  
"You didn't!" Rae cried eagerly. Cliff grabbed her hand and partially dragged her up the stairs into their room and to the door. He unlocked it with the key, and flung the door open.  
"I did!" The room was converted into a small bedroom. Cliff had taken out the racks and painted the walls blue with little animals. He'd carpeted it in bright green like grass. There were a few shelves on the wall, and a set of dresser drawers. There was a square traced onto the wall. "I want to put a window there, and there's no furniture yet, but I tried to get it done by today! Everytime you went out, I always tried to do something, and eventually I got to this. This is all I have to show for a lot of work." He grinned. "My present to our lil'un is to finish this before it's born; furniture and everything!" Rae threw her arms around Cliff.  
"I love you!" She squealed. "Now come on, it smells like paint in here, let's go deliver presents!" Rae dragged Cliff down the stairs and outside into the snow.  
  
Dix stared up at her much larger mate, communicating to him in silence. The grey wolf surveyed the litter of pups calmly, then Dix. It barely looked up as Rae and Cliff burst outside.  
"Shh, look, it's the wolf..." Rae murred softly to Cliff.  
"That must be Dix's boyfriend." Cliff whispered back.  
"Strange, that a wolf and dog would mate."  
"Wolves and dogs /are/ related. I suppose Dix has odd tastes."  
"But she made a good choice." Rae nodded. The wolf trudged away. "Oh!"  
"Don't worry; typically, wolves are faithful to their mates. They always come back." Cliff smiled. "He'll protect your dog."  
".... Yeah..." Rae whispered, hugging Cliff happily.  
  
Late that night, Cliff, Rae, Karen, and Kai all sat on the roof again.  
"There's one." Rae pointed to a shooting star.  
"There's another." Karen pointed to another.  
"There's two more!" Kai gestured to a few comets flying over them.  
"Make a wish..." Cliff laughed.  
"I wish... that next chapter, we could do a special on the coming of spring!" Rae wished.  
"I wish for a chapter on the New Year's Day!" Kai cried.  
"I wish for a chapter on that damn haunted house already!" Karen pleaded.  
"Nice wishes." Cliff grinned. "Now, let's see what the audience likes! Whose wish will come true? Find out next time on... STORY OF A GIRL!"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Nayru: Your options are 1) New Year's 2) First Day Of Spring 3) The Haunted House  
  
Xiao: Please vote and review!!! 


	17. New Year's Eve! No Need For Fireworks! A...

Story Of A Girl  
  
Nayru: Alright, consider this a double chapter. I got two votes.... each for something different... So you all get an uber-double chapter!!  
  
Chapter 17: New Year's Eve! No Need For Fireworks!  
  
and  
  
The Haunted House! No Need For Returns!  
  
"Whoooooooooooo!" Kai half-flew past Karen. He was dressed in bright clothes, and jumping around his living room. Karen was sitting in an armchair, a book in one hand, her head resting in the other. Occasionally, her hand drifted to her four-months-pregnant stomach, and immediately back to her book. Outside, the sounds of screaming and squealing rang out. It was New Year's Eve, and most people were outside celebrating, having a massive snowball fight. Karen and Kai were inside, but Kai was celebrating in his own way.  
"Kai, not now." Karen sighed.  
"Whooooooooooooo!" He pranced past her again.  
"Kai, I have a migraine. Not now." Karen groaned, rubbing her head.  
"WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" His 'battle cry' became more energetic and obnoxious. Karen smacked him with her book as he passed.  
"KAI. Not now. I'm in no mood."  
"But Karen!! It's New Year's!"  
"So?" Karen continued reading.  
"Be merrier! Be happy!"  
"I've been through twenty-one New Year's, Kai. They all end in people getting drunk and people fighting in the morning."  
"But Rae's being happy!"  
"She has no reason to." Karen grumbled. "I'll be in bed." She went upstairs, and Kai sighed. Karen seemed miserable, and he felt it was his fault.  
  
Cliff sat at the table by the window, reading glasses on, looking at three bills, and holding a calculator. "Hm... carry the eight..." He muttered, checking the calculator's work against his own. "So that's where we lost this..." He made a few scratch marks, and tapped on the calculator a few times.  
"EEEK!" Elli cried, running past the window. Cliff looked up quickly, to see Gray and Harris chase her, throwing snowballs. He chuckled, and continued working.  
"Multiply that by five..."  
"AAAAH!" Cliff looked out the window, and watched as Andy tackled Popuri to the ground, pelting her with snowballs. He laughed slightly.  
"Subtract... then add 4.8 times that figure..." He rubbed his eyes, still scratching onto the paper. He tapped a few keys on the calculator.  
"Cliffy! Cliff!" Rae banged on the window. Her face was lit up with excitement, and there was snow in her hair. "Come and play!"  
"Can't." He smiled, pressing a hand against the window. She pressed hers to match his. "Have to balance the books." She pouted cutely.  
"Fine, but you better get your butt out here as soon as you're finished!" Rae stuck her tongue out. He did the same, and they made out through the glass- before Rae was mobbed by snowballs. Laughing, she ran from them. Cliff grinned.  
"Then add 3,000... and it comes out to... exactly 40,000 in debt." Cliff gasped, standing up in shock. He watched Rae run around, carefree. She didn't know how far down he'd dragged her. When he told her, how would she react? How could he tell her? He stared around, his head spinning. He stared at the door. He heard Rae laugh again. Slowly, he ran his hand across his face. He lay a hand on the bookshelf to steady himself, his fingers brushing across a book.  
"Do, it, Cliff. You'd be surprised." Cliff gasped in shock, whirling towards the door. Karen leaned in the doorway. Jumping in fright, he grabbed it, and fell off, the book in his hand. He tore it open, Karen leaning over him, desperate to find something, anything- until it fell to the very page he was looking for.  
  
Rae and Kai climbed onto the roof of Rae's house. The entire group was covered in snow, as one by one they went up the ladder onto the roof, sitting facing the ocean. It was nearing midnight.  
"Where's that husband of yours?" Kai asked Rae.  
"Where's that wife of yours?" She replied.  
"Karen's asleep. She had a headache."  
"Cliff's doing some work on our checks... " Rae shrugged. "But he should be done by now." She bounced off the roof, and flung open the door.  
The fireworks started above. The blues and reds flashed across the faces of the onlookers. The town was lit in beautiful, flashing colors, drenched in the crackling sounds and whirring of the fireworks. Gasps of awe and joy filled the air. Bells rang in the new year over all the noise of people and fireworks and explosions. There was applause as they ended. People were thrilled and psyched. It wascustom for the first sounds of the new year to be fireworks and church bells. It was not custom, however, for a girl to scream at the very end of them.  
Kai bounded off the roof, not using the ladder, and burst into Rae's house. The first thing he noticed was that Cliff wasn't there. Rae was standing in the center of the room, staring at a piece of paper. "Rae, what happened?"  
"He... it says he had to go and do something, that he'd return, that Karen was with him..." She shook her head slowly. "I... I think he left me..." She whimpered.  
"Cliff's a better person than that! Don't worry!" Kai hugged her. "Any idea where he went?" Kai looked around the room for some clue of some kind. The open book laying on the floor a few yards behind Rae caught his eye. He examined the page. "Oh? A haunted house?" He read the whole page. "Curious. A gangster's treasure hidden in it?" He thought for a minute over the book, while Rae paced back and forth. Just then, there was the sound of a paper hitting the door.  
"First paper of the New Year!" Stu called through the door.  
"Thanks!" Rae ran outside, wearing a forced smile, and gave Stu a few coins as tip. "Happy New Year!"  
"Thank you, you too!" He ran off, and Rae picked up the paper. Sighing, she flipped it open.  
"A-ah!!" She cried. "Kai!!" He looked up from the book.  
"Yeah?" Rae held up the paper. The headline was "Psychotic Stalker Escapes Prison Again, Returns To Hometown". Kai snatched the paper. "You think that's..." Kai flipped to the article on it, scanning the page for a name. "He's back."  
  
"Karen, how did you know about this?" Cliff asked, as he picked the lock on the house's door. It was by the old, unused dock. It was empty, cold, and lonely. The sea salt's scent wafted off a few crusty, rotting wooden boats. It seemed nobody had even been there for a long time. The only other signs of inhabiting life was a third set of footprints that neither could identify. They assumed it was just someone who'd recently been on a walk in the area.  
"Honestly, it's been haunting me." Karen sighed. "I remember the day my great-grandfather was carted off to prison, on charges of robbery and gang warfare, though I don't believe he really did what they say he did. New Year's Day, twelve years ago. He hid his loot here, but nobody's gone after it. The hiding place was only revealed while he was on his way to the electric chair. His exact words were 'All the treasure I have lies in my house by the dock.' Nobody's bothered going after it, they say he haunts it, but I... I've secretly always wanted to come after it, to find it. But... my dad did too. And my parents would spend every New Year's day arguing about it."  
"Guess that explains why you hate New Year's." Cliff chuckled, as the lock fell off the door.  
"Naturally." She opened the door, and entered. "This was all his." Karen sighed reminiscently, staring around the main hall. It was decorated in lavish pictures, covered in dust, fine art left to waste. The rug would have been elegant and beautiful had time not eaten away at its fibers and design. The wall paper peeled slightly, and the design was faded, but Cliff was convinced that it would have radiated rich living. A bare candelabra hung from the ceiling, all the glass broken on the floor. "I used to come here."  
"He was rich?"  
"Very." Karen smiled slightly. "Extremely wealthy. We got none of his money... because my father was bribed to testify against him in the court case. We were desperate for money, y'know?"  
"But with all this, how could you be poor?"  
"I suppose the old man hated my father. He loved my mother, though. His beautiful granddaughter-in-law."  
"A sad thing indeed. Loving your son's wife more than your own son."  
"A position I'd deplore." Karen nodded. Cliff rubbed his chin in thought.  
"Let's see... where would he hide a bushel of money?"  
"In the last place anyone would look, of course." Karen smiled. "Where is the last place you'd look?"  
"Honestly? Under a table."  
"I doubt it, that's TOO obvious." Karen laughed. "Hm... Perhaps... some secret hiding place nobody would know about."  
"Let's look and find out. But Karen..!" He called, as she turned around to walk up the stairs. "Kai would kill me, absolutely maim me if you got hurt. Stay with me, I'd feel better."  
"Alright." They walked off together into the dark house.  
  
"Cliff's not a completely insensitive jackass, Rae. He's only partly insensitive jackass. He wouldn't run out on you." Kai comforted Rae, as they walked towards the old beach. "And he's not stupid enough to run out with Karen. And he's definitely not stupid enough to get into something that'll get him killed."  
"But he's reckless." Rae sighed. "He doesn't know what'll happen when he does things. He doesn't know if he'll be killed or not. Besides, there's ghosts in there!" Kai patted and held her hand, gently squeezing it.  
"Ghosts aren't real, Rae! They don't exist. We're entirely safe." They came through the clearing, still holding hands, seeing the dock and house about twenty yards away. "There are lights on; haven't been lights on there for years. They must be there."  
"Then let's go!" Rae cried, breaking away from his hand, and running towards the house.  
"Rae!" He made as if to run after her, but found himself not moving. "What the..." He looked down, and saw his leg entangled in freshly laid rope. "A trap... what in the hell?! Rae! Come back!" But she couldn't hear him.  
"Well, well, what have we here?" Kai turned around, hearing the dreaded voice, and screamed.  
  
"Cliff!" Rae burst into the house, calling his name.  
"Rae?" Cliff whispered, hearing her call. "She's here?!"  
"Are you hiding from her?" Karen whispered back.  
"Yes, very much so... " Cliff hissed. "I'm trying to keep her from finding out how deep of debt we're in."  
"That's terrible! Are you afraid she'll leave you over a little money problem? You're that insecure?! She didn't marry you over money."  
"Cliff, come down or up here! I know you're here!" Rae cried. "Don't make me come after you!" Cliff looked at Karen. He had no choice. Rae suddenly screamed, though it sounded like she was crying. In a whim of bravado, he grabbed the railing, leapt over it, and landed on his feet in the main foyer. The floor cracked a little beneath him from the impact. But oddly enough, Rae was gone.  
"You idiot, don't do that!" Karen called. "Where is she?"  
"I dunno... I heard her, but I don't see her." Cliff sighed.  
"Well, then get back up here. We should try to find that money while we're here."  
"I think I should look for Rae."  
"Well, choose then."  
"... I'll keep looking, Karen." Cliff went back up the stairs, and he and Karen continued searching the upper floors.  
  
Behind each painting, under each rug, in every bed, over every shelf, on every fan, everywhere they could think of for something to be hidden on the floor. They went back down the stairs, and stared around the foyer again.  
"Nothing." Karen moaned. "There's nothing!"  
"Maybe it's on this floor." Just then, there was a crashing sound. Karen jumped, and leaned against Cliff.  
"What w-was that?!" She gasped.  
"I don't know..." Just then, there was a huge gust of wind, and a distinct moaning sound. Karen shrieked again.  
"I better hide!" She wailed, and slid under the kitchen table. Cliff looked around the foyer.  
"There's something wrong here." He whispered to himself, turning to walk down the hallway.  
  
In the basement of the house, Kai was tied by his waist to the wall. Rae was curled up in a little ball in the corner, her wrists bound to her ankles by rope. She was asleep, he was partially awake. He was aware enough to know what had happened.  
"Damn it, Silas, let Rae go." Kai begged. "You can't take her from her husband. I thought you were in a maximum security prison!" Silas paced back and forth in front of Kai, smirking.  
"I can do this to you. I'm not letting her go until she's dead. And I was in a maximum security prison. Bars and guards cannot withhold my love for Rae. She withholds her love from me, so I must do away with what I love so that I may love it more."  
"That's disgusting." Kai growled. "She's married! Haven't you tried to ruin her life enough?!"  
"No. She ruined mine."  
"You're terrible, so selfish." Kai growled. "Someday, you'll get yours."  
"I'd like to see that day." Silas chuckled. "Where's her valiant husband now? He's not here, is he?"  
"Rrgh..." Kai grumbled. It was true; Cliff should have found them at this point. "Damn..."  
"Like I thought." Silas snickered. "That old man left a cryptic message in this house, did he not? All that is precious is here. To me, the gold he left is precious. So I'm going to go find it." Silas turned to stalk out of the room, but the ceiling fell on his head, knocking him out.  
Kai could only blink in shock as Cliff fell through the floor on the ceiling, covered in dust.  
"Oow..." Cliff moaned.  
"How'd you pull that off?" Kai asked.  
"I guess the floor cracked when I jumped from the upper floor to the foyer." Just then, something entirely white whisked into the room. "What the-"  
"You have what is precious to you..." The haunted voice whispered. Cliff blinked a few times in shock, and finally elected to scream.  
"The hell!"  
"I knew the floor would crack. You got lucky, boy. But remember what is really most precious to you." The voice cackled. "I helped you a bit... your weight alone wouldn't break the floor." Cliff's jaw dropped. The white thing laughed coldly, and vanished. Cliff stared at Rae, asleep in the corner. He ran to her, panicking silently.  
"Hey, wake up!" He cried. She opened her eyes, and stared at him.  
"... untie me." She mumbled. He calmly undid the ropes on her wrists and ankles. She straightened her body, and slapped him across the face. "I can't believe you came here! This place is falling apart, and a hideout for criminals at that!"  
"Criminals like Silas." Kai interjected. "Let's get out of here, before he wakes up." Cliff quickly untied Kai, and they ran to where Karen was hiding.  
  
"Get away!" Karen cried as they appraoched. Sighing calmly, Kai turned the table over.  
"Karen, can we leave?" He smiled down at her. She jumped up and to him. He patted her on the head lovingly. Cliff, meanwhile, was fascinated by the table.  
"Guys..." Cliff pointed at the underside of the table. They all looked, and gasped in surprise. Paper money was taped to the bottom, in high bills; 1,000 gold per piece. Karen slowly shook her head.  
"He hid it under the table!"  
"Should we take it?" Kai looked at Rae. She thought for a second.  
"No." She smiled. "It's not ours, is it? Let's turn it into the mayor." She looked up at Cliff. "Unless you want to take some..." Cliff smiled slightly.  
"Can we take just a little?" Karen and Kai both jabbed him in the stomach. "Okay, never mind." He gasped, flinching. Rae laughed, and took two bills off the bottom. She handed one to Karen and pocketed the other.  
"Wait, grab three more!" Karen laughed. "We should give some out to everyone else!" She took three more. They both walked out, giggling in their riches. Cliff and Kai eyed each other.  
"You... you're about drowning in debt, aren't you?" Kai smirked.  
"Only if you are." Cliff rose an eyebrow, cheekily grinning.  
"In debt to my eyes."  
"In debt over my head. Nothing's cheap."  
"Let's say we each take enough, just enough, to cover our debt. And not tell our wives."  
"They don't need to know..." Cliff and Kai both snickered evilly. They picked up the table, and carried it out.  
  
Cliff and Kai emerged from Kai's basement, smiling secretively. Rae and Karen were on the roof, watching the sunrise. They both climbed up the ladder, joining their wives.  
"So, everyone alright?" Kai asked.  
"Fine."  
"Fine!" Karen giggled.  
"Good, good." Kai responded, with a smile.  
"When do we pick up again?" Cliff asked.  
"I think perhaps in Spring?" Kai responded. "With the flowers in bloom..."  
"Maybe around the Horse Races?" Karen grinned at the thought of horse racing.  
"Ah, hell, maybe we'll finally get that chicken we've been waiting for!" Rae cried.  
"Well, we'll see." Cliff smiled. "Next time, on Story of a Girl!"  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Nayru: Your options are;  
  
1) Cherry Blossom Festival 2) Horse Racing 3) Chicken Capers  
  
Xiao: Review please! 


	18. The Horse Races! No Need For Spooks!

Story Of A Girl  
  
Nayru: You want chapter, you get chapter, here's a chapter!  
  
DISCLAIMER: Some of this stuff is mine. Most of it is not.  
  
Chapter 18: The Horse Races! No Need For Spooks!  
  
Rae brushed Cliffy, the horse proudly in the spring air. It was mid- April, and the world was green and covered in cherry blossoms. Police forces were all searching for Silas, and there had been no sign of him since that night in January. Mary and Gray had been married three weeks before. Elli and Andrew had been married two months before that, Ann and Rick were engaged. Popuri and Harris didn't seem to have any plans. The others were working in the fields, watering the cabbages, carrots, and turnips that grew. The chicken and Koibito were in a pen, and the calf, Kori, was in a separate pen. The day was young, and it was already beautiful.  
And with a beautiful day comes...  
"Gods, it's so hot!" Karen whined.  
... a bright sun.  
"Well, Karen, why don't you fan yourself?" Rae suggested politely, trying to mount Cliffy. She was completely unsuccessful- her eight-months- pregnant stomach got in the way. "I mean, I'm still working..."  
"Rae, you're in shorts." Karen pointed out. Karen was wearing a pair of sweatpants and an extremely loose top. Rae had preferred a pair of loose overall shorts and a loose blouse.  
"Well, if you were more confident about your legs..."  
"How can I be more confident about them if I can't see them?!"  
"Ask your husband!"  
"Rae, you know he'll say yes to avoid me clobbering him." Karen giggled jokingly.  
"Clobber him anyway, it's his fault." Rae shrugged, continuing to brush the horse.  
"Good point." Karen laughed, eyeing Kai, was was weeding the garden. Kai laughed nervously, and got out of her line of sight. Cliff was hiding in the same place he'd chosen to hide.  
"Lemme guess... she was looking at you again." Cliff muttered to Kai.  
"Psycho wife." Kai chuckled. "Apparently, it's my fault she's sexier when it's the time of the month she can get pregnant. Now it's 24-7 PMS. Massive mood swings, inexplicable anger, and constant crying."  
"You think you've got it bad? Rae's hormonal. Really hormonal. I swear to the Gods, if I get too close, she WILL pin me down and do naughty things to me. That's why I'm over here." Cliff snorted.  
"Wait, but you like sex." Kai turned his head confusedly. Cliff smirked.  
"When nobody else is watching, yes." Kai laughed. Just then, Karen grabbed Kai, crying.  
"Are my legs ugly?" She whined.  
"They're beautiful, love." Kai smiled nervously, comforting her. Cliff snickered. Just then, the Mayor arrived.  
"Rae, where are you!" He called. Rae emerged from the stable and waved. She ran up to him. "Rae, tomorrow is the Horse Festival. I know you can't ride, but will you watch?"  
"I can ride!" Rae insisted. The Mayor rose an eyebrow.  
"Maybe Cliff should." Rae frowned.  
"But I wanna ride..." She whined.  
"But Rae, you can't even get on the horse." Karen sighed.  
"Can so!" Rae forced herself up onto Cliffy's back, her stomach resting on his shoulders. The Mayor sighed reluctantly.  
"Alright, I'll enter Cliffy. But for your sake, don't ride if you can't." The Mayor walked away. Rae nudged her heels into Cliffy's sides, and he trotted around slightly.  
"I can ride..." Rae grinned.  
"Rae, that's not good enough." Karen tried to pull her down.  
"I can ride, I'm healthy!" Rae cried insistently.  
"If you insist." Karen conceded, sinking into a chair, and starting to sniffle. Kai patted her shoulder, as Rae dismounted Cliffy and stormed off indignantly.  
"She is headstrong." Cliff sighed, putting Cliffy back in the stable. "I just hope this isn't something that'll hurt her."  
"Cliff, I'm begging you not to let her ride." Andrew spoke from behind Cliff. He'd stopped to listen. "It's really unhealthy. I'm telling you to stop her. She can barely walk, let alone ride a horse. Get up before her tomorrow, get to the tracks first." Cliff nodded.  
"She'll do it, and this is all I can do to stop her."  
  
Early the next morning, the alarm went off. It was 4 AM, and Cliff had set the alarm for himself. In his plan, he'd neglected to remember that he was immune to his alarm. Rae was not. She opened her eyes, stretched, stared at the clock, wondering why it was going off. Shrugging, she switched it off, dressed, and went outside. She saddled Cliffy, and rode into town.  
Two hours later, Cliff woke up on his natural sleep pattern, and stared at the clock and the empty bed next to him. The way he expressed everything running through his mind at that second could be expressed in one word-  
"Fuck."  
  
Most of the younger people in town were at the track, as well as people from towns all around. Cliff met the rest of them at the track. Andrew stared at Cliff in horror.  
"She didn't-!"  
"She did." Cliff groaned. "She got up before I did."  
"Damn it, Cliff, you moron!" Elli screamed at him. Ann whacked him across the head.  
"Let's try and get her removed from the races." Kai suggested nervously.  
"How about something that won't kill her pride as fast?" Cliff grumbled.  
"We're not worried about killing her pride here. We're more worried about her killing herself." Andrew sighed, rubbing his temples.  
"How about we just beg the Mayor to disqualify her on medical terms?"  
"The first race is starting!" The Mayor announced. "In the first lane... Rae, the hometown racer!"  
"Shit." The entire group gasped at once. The Mayor ran off a list of the other racers. Cliff could distinctly see Rae.  
"For the gods' sake!" A few people whispered, gesturing towards her. "That girl can't ride!"  
"Andrew, speak now, or feel my wrath." Karen snarled into Andrew's ear. Andrew laughed nervously, and ran up to the Mayor in the announcer's booth (which was also away from the psychotic Karen). He began to rapidly whisper into the Mayor's ear. Some of the crowd pointed at them, watching them confer. The Mayor shook his head. Andrew stomped his foot, and spoke slightly louder, so that people could hear him slightly.  
"... you can't do this in sound mind-"  
"Andrew, there's nothing I can do, it's not like I can cancel the race."  
"Replace her, at least, don't let that woman..."  
"I've told you, there's nothing I can do!"  
"I am a DOCTOR, Mayor, and this girl is in no condition to do this-"  
"Let the race begin!" The Mayor called over the loudspeaker. "Ready... and... race!"  
"No!" Cliff cried.  
"Go!" The Mayor announced.  
"Yes!" Rae squealed, digging her heels into Cliffy's side. Andrew dashed up to the group. He felt five harsh glares, and glared right back at the five girls.  
"He said it was too late. All we can do is cross our fingers." He growled, scowling slightly at the Mayor.  
  
Rae was neck and neck with the horse in the third lane. She had no idea why anyone wanted to stop her from racing; she was doing fine. She dug a little deeper into Cliffy's side, urging him to go a little faster. The finish line was in sight, and she had to win, just to prove them, those who'd tried to stop her, wrong. The world seemed to be breathing down her neck, and her pulse raced faster, and she began to shiver. She felt like a thousand and one eyes were on her, and a flash of black in a bush on the side of the track caught her eye. She almost halted Cliffy at that second, but she disregarded it, fearless, desperate. It paid off for her, as she forced Cliffy to run faster, just a little faster. Finally, she pulled ahead of the other horses and past the finish line, and the crowd burst into cheers. She ran a little ahead of the other horses, and waved to the crowd from atop Cliffy. "Yah! That's right! Love me, world!" She laughed excitedly. Just then, a figure in all black leapt from the side of the ring, right in front of Cliffy.  
That was perhaps the longest split second in Cliff's life, as Cliffy spooked at that man's sudden appearance, rearing into the air and tossing Rae off and five feet away. The figure crept away, as a few of the track assistants dashed onto the track.  
"Rae!" He cried out, dashing towards her. The figure in black swung out, into Cliff's way.  
"You won't!" The man hissed.  
"Silas, get the hell out of my way!" Cliff screamed, pushing the figure in black, recognized now as Silas, to the ground. Harris made a grab for him, but Silas leapt up and ran off. Cliff didn't care, all that mattered at that second was Rae.  
"Ah, ah, it hurts!" Rae was crying, clutching at her stomach.  
"Someone get a doctor!" A track assistant called.  
"I am a bloody doctor, you fool!" Andrew called back, running up to Rae. He took her pulse, and checked her breathing. "Let's get her out of here, get her home." Cliff grabbed Rae from the ground, clutching her to his chest. "Cliff, you idiot, put her down, you'll hurt her more." Cliff snarled angrily.  
"I'm going to protect her. She's my wife, and I'm protecting her..."  
"Cliff..." Rae begged. "Please, take me home..."  
"People, clear the track, we have a minor disaster on our hands, the second race has been delayed!" The Mayor called over the loudspeaker.  
"Like hell this is minor!" Andrew yelled at the Mayor. He turned to the track assistants. "This woman is in labor, take her to my hospital on the ranch. And call the Midwife in!" Cliff froze in his place, as a track assistant lead Cliffy away, and Rae was taken from his arms and away by four of them. The noise rolled in the back of his head, and he fell forward onto the dirt. He felt so cold and betrayed. Kai picked him up, and lead him away, but he was blinded by his tears, and he could no longer see where he was going.  
  
Cliff paced back and forth by the door to a sectioned-off hospital room, biting his lip. Karen and Kai watched him.  
"I think that the subject of the next chapter is already defined." Kai stated calmly.  
"Kai, shut up." Cliff whimpered. "Don't make a sound, no sound that'll deter Andrew from saving Rae's life."  
"Cliff, she'll be fine." Karen sighed.  
"Sure, sure... we'll find out next time on Story of a Girl!" Kai grinned nervously.  
"Shh!" Cliff urged, and continued pacing.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Nayru: Like it says. Get ready for what you've been waiting for next chapter! 


	19. Fast Changes Arriving! No Need For Slow ...

Story of a Girl  
  
Nayru: (murdering her computer) This chapter has been deleted one time too many! Time to put an end to this! (types away)  
  
Chapter 19: Fast Changes Arriving! No Need For Slow Changes!  
  
The evening was young, and Andrew was on the phone. Rae was still in the separate cubicle. Karen was breathing heavily, but the sounds of her breathing were drowned out by the Gameboy resting on her belly as she played. Kai was leaned over her shoulder, watching her play. The music clicked and whirred melodically, making a large racket. Cliff was pacing still, his footsteps an even beat. Andrew was in deep conversation with someone, but none of them could tell who. The clock's ticking was inane, and the sounds of a heart monitor echoed within the walls of the building. Finally, Andrew put down the phone and walked towards the cubicle. As he entered, he turned the music on Karen's Gameboy off. He gave her a stern look, and she laughed nervously. The sounds were monotonous, tappings, beatings, and the ticking of the clock. Kai almost felt like breaking it in half just to end it. Nobody wanted to speak. They had nothing to say.  
Finally, Karen spoke.  
"I just wet myself." She mumbled. Kai looked at her.  
"You mean...?" Karen smiled cheerfully.  
"We got married at the same time, we got pregnant at the same time, what makes it so impossible we'd give birth at the same time?"  
"Shit!" Kai cried. Andrew emerged from the cubicle.  
"Karen, in here, now." He grabbed her hand and dragged her into a different cubicle. He calmly pulled away the curtain between the two, and Rae could see Karen. She waved cheerfully as Andrew put her on a monitor, and went back out to make another phone call.  
"Rae!" Karen gasped softly.  
"You ok, Karen?" She asked. Her voice was light and sleepy.  
"Yeah, I was hoping it'd end soon. You in pain?"  
"Actually, the fall didn't hurt that much. It was just the sensation of my water breaking un-naturally and the shock of the fall... not to mention these contractions." Rae laughed nervously. "But honestly, I'd been feeling them since yesterday..."  
"But it's too soon!" Karen gasped. "You're early!"  
"So are you." Rae replied.  
"I mean, I've been feeling contractions for a few hours, but... Now it hurts."  
"There you go." Rae smiled cheerfully. "You'll get your epidural after he's called your folks... I think he actually called my dad."  
"He called your dad...?" Karen whispered.  
  
"I don't get why we have to escort Rae's dad." Cliff grumbled. The midwife had arrived in the clinic three hours after Karen had been sent in. Karen's mother was helping Andrew, Elli, and the Midwife in birthing both women. Kai and Cliff had been sent to retrieve Rae's father from the ferry.  
"I've never met or seen the man. I know that the farmer who was here before Rae had a son, he'd be about thirty-five by now." Kai frowned. "He was fourteen when she was born."  
"Wow. Fourteen... I'll bet you anything he was an abandoner. One of those guys who gets a girl preggers and abandons her."  
"Nah, I don't think he's running from the law. What I heard was that the girl abandoned him. No crime in that... Damned abandoners, all of them." Kai spit distastefully on the ground. Cliff scowled.  
"They called me an abandoner, Kai."  
"Oh." Kai responded shortly. Cliff folded his arms.  
"Only the worst of people abandon their lovers. They are, in my opinion, the scum of the earth."  
"Not as bad as a man who abandons his daughter." Kai remarked.  
"I'll bet he had no choice but to leave her an orphan." Cliff sighed.  
"I'll bet he did." Kai scoffed, as they arrived at the ferry dock. The ferry had just pulled in, and the buyers from the city were meandering towards the market. Two people, a man in a three-piece business suit and tie in his mid-thirties and a young woman of barely twenty clutched to his arm, waited in the center of the dock, talking to his girlfriend in a loud, arrogant voice.  
"... completely disgusting! I mean, I dumped this kid on my old man fifteen years ago! I haven't heard from the kid, I don't even know her name or what she looks like! I don't frankly care. Out of the blue, a phone call saying that she's having a baby, come see her 'right now, dammit!' in the words of that vile doctor- he must have gotten his license from a Cracker Jack box!- and we're expected to up and go! We did, on the word that her husband would be here to escort us, and the hick man he sent got lost on the way to the do-"  
"Excuse me." Cliff interrupted his rant. "I'm not a hick." The man lowered his high-class sunglasses, eyeing Cliff over their rims.  
"You're Cliff Hawk?"  
"That's right. You must be Mr. Ginram."  
"John Ginram." Cliff and Mr. Ginram shook hands. "Vice-CEO of GR Technology."  
"Wow, you're THE John Ginram of Glorious Revolution Tech? I had no idea Rae had such a high-class father." Kai exclaimed.  
"Who's that?" Mr. Ginram inquired, looking at Kai.  
"My best friend, Kai Sernet."  
"Sernet? I just ordered the firing of a man by the name of Sernet." Mr. Ginram rose an eyebrow, glaring at Kai.  
"My dad used to work for you." Kai folded his arms. They stared at each other uncomfortably. The girl on Mr. Ginram's arm still smirked at them.  
"Excuse me, miss, I didn't catch your name." Cliff smiled in her general direction. She smirked.  
"Lily Blaine." She responded simply.  
"Soon to be Lily Ginram. This is my fiance." He smirked, kissing the top of her head. At a closer view, it was apparent Lily was younger than Rae.  
"Erm... so how long has it been since you saw Rae? Fifteen years?"  
"She was about six." Mr. Ginram shrugged.  
"Well, I bet she's changed a lot from what you remember."  
"Hn." Mr. Ginram shrugged.  
"Are you at all happy to see her?"  
"I was interrupted from an important business meeting, and the CEO told me that since it was my daughter, I HAD to go... I mean, it could have waited a few hours, it's just a baby!" Mr. Ginram snorted. Lily laughed coldly. Cliff and Kai scowled.  
"Let's just go." Cliff turned and walked away.  
"Just follow us." Kai added, following Cliff. Lily and John both followed, snickering nasty things in low voices.  
  
Rae had watched Karen's cubicle close off. Andrew and the Midwife were both in Karen's cubicle, and Elli and Karen's mother beside her. Rae shivered, afraid, as she heard Karen scream. The door opened and shut four times in succession.  
"Karen?!" Popuri gasped.  
"Is she ok?!" Mary cried.  
"What's going on?!" Harris interjected.  
"Should I call the downtown hospital?" Gray asked.  
"She's fine, yes, nothing, no!" Elli called out through the cubicle sheet. "Honestly, you four do that EVERY time she has a bad contraction!"  
"She screams like she's in pain." Popuri whimpered.  
"SHE IS IN PAIN! NOW GET OUT! YOU'RE DISTURBING RAE!" Both Karen's mother and Elli yelled. Four people squeaked in fright, and Rae heard the door opened and shut four more times. Elli smiled soothingly at Rae.  
"Are you ok?"  
"I think the medicine's taking effect." Rae responded with a smile.  
"How can you remain so calm? It's like you're not in pain."  
"Actually, I'm in a lot of pain, but if I keep on smiling- ow ow ow ow ow OW OW OW OW OW AAAAAGH!" Rae's calm, detached tone slowly turned into a scream. Elli gasped, and stroked her hand.  
"Shh, shh..."  
"It hurts, it hurts..!" Rae cried.  
The door opened and shut six times.  
"Rae?!" Six voices chorused.  
"Don't make me lock that door!" Karen's mother shouted. The door opened and shut six more times. The door then opened once.  
"Hello? Why is everyone doing the runaround?" Kai inquired from outside the cubicle.  
"Ah! Kai! Get out!" Karen's mother rose to shoo him out, but not before Karen could scream again.  
"Oh, gods..." Kai dropped to the ground, fainted. Elli emerged from the cubicle. Cliff, Mr. Ginram, and Lily were standing in the door. Cliff was staring at Kai, shocked.  
"Childbirth. Nasty business." Mr. Ginram snorted. "Is there an inn we can stay in while we wait for the end of the 'blessed' event?"  
"Arrangements have been made, sir." Elli responded, chirping. "Ask Doug for the 'Ginram' party. We'll notify you when the baby has been born." Mr. Ginram nodded sternly, and left with Lily on his arm.  
"I hate him." Cliff grumbled, heaving Kai's dead weight onto the bench.  
"I don't blame you." Elli sighed in response.  
"He's just so cold! Talking about his own daughter as though she was nothing to him! I'd never do that to my own kid." Cliff scowled.  
"I'm glad you feel that way. Your kid's almost here." Elli smiled at Cliff. "Rae's almost ready. It's just the waiting game."  
"And Karen?" Cliff asked.  
"She's in delivery. Unfortunately, with Karen, it's a struggle. We think the baby is upside-down. Breaching. The Doctor said it might be twins, so they're struggling to get out."  
"Lucky Kai!" Cliff smiled. Karen began to scream again in the background. Elli immediately jumped up and slammed the lock on the door. There was the sound of six people slamming into each other. Cliff and Elli laughed.  
"An unexpected surprise, but a pleasant one." Just then, there was the sound of a baby crying from Karen's cubicle. Six people slammed into the door again. "Oh! Wow!" Elli cried, running into Karen's cubicle. Cliff looked down at Kai, and shoved him to the ground to revive him.  
"Oooooow..." Kai moaned.  
"Dude, Karen just had a baby." Cliff murmured to him. Kai's eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet- instantly falling back on his butt, slipping on his pants. There was more crying from Karen's cubicle, and Kai got to his feet again, and ran in. Cliff heard cooings and squealing. He smiled. The babies stopped crying, and except for the sounds of heavy bretahing from Rae's cubicle, all that could be heard was Karen and Kai quietly discussing names. After about ten minutes of the talking, Kai emerged from the cubicle with a wet, pink baby in a white blanket. His face was glowing.  
"Twin boys." Kai rambled. "Two boys. This one's Gabriel. Karen's got Rhamiel." Kai held up a little plastic bracelet on Gabriel's tiny wrist with his name on it.  
"Angel names!" Cliff exclaimed. "Suitable..."  
"They're perfect." Kai bubbled. "Perfect, perfect, perfect..." He wandered back into the cubicle. Cliff sighed, folding his arms. The sun was setting fast. He heard Rae whimpering, her whimpers escalate to a scream, and fall silent. He sighed, standing and walking out. He wandered off the farm and into the forest.  
  
"How can I please her? I mean, I'm not sensitive, or rich, or smart. I can't be a good father, I can't do anything right. How in the world will I be able to make Rae happy after she went through this for me?" Cliff sighed to himself.  
"You didn't do it for her, you did it with her." A voice murmured back.  
"But... I haven't done anything. I haven't helped."  
"You stood by her."  
"What can I do, strange unidentified voice?!" Cliff yelled.  
"Stay by her." The voice answered simply. Cliff thought for a minute. He grabbed a few flowers from a patch nearby, and ran back onto the farm.  
He burst into the clinic, to hear the sounds of crying.  
"Cliff, you missed it." Kai chuckled. "And I had NO idea Rae had that vocabulary. Most of it referring to you." "Great!" Cliff chortled. He entered the cubicle. Rae was leaned back against the pillow on the bed, a new baby laying on her chest. Andrew was writing down the baby's information, and Elli was stroking Rae's hand.  
"...Baby girl; mother; Rae Hawk, father; Cliff Hawk, born on April the Eighteenth, year..."  
"You did so well, Rae. Cliff's here." Elli moved aside, and Cliff crouched next to Rae. She smiled weakly at him.  
"Everything I said about you, I didn't mean." She whispered.  
"I brought you flowers." He mumbled nervously, offering them to her.  
"Aw, thanks! Look, baby, daddy brought you and mommy a present..."  
"The anaesthesia's still wearing off." Elli laughed. "She's completely out of it, and will be out of it for a day, at least."  
"What do we name her, Cliffy?" Rae wondered.  
"Uhm... you pick?" Cliff suggested.  
"I think... Ezra..." Rae yawned. "Ezra... Hawk...."  
"Then Ezra it is." Cliff kissed her on the forehead. Rae managed to sit up, and held Ezra in her arms, tight to her chest. "Now I have two girls." Cliff grinned.  
  
Later that evening, Kai and Cliff were on the roof. Rae and Karen were still inside. Kai was holding Gabriel.  
"Wow." Kai reflected.  
"Wow." Cliff nodded.  
"What do we do next time?"  
"Well... I think we're going to give the audience a choice this time."  
"Dog races are fun, right?" Kai blinked.  
"And cooking contests." Cliff nodded.  
"Or we could do a 'Day in the Life of' featurette."  
"Those are good. Let's have the audience decide."  
"See you next time on..." Kai and Cliff looked at eachother.  
"STORY OF A GIRL!" Both cried.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...  
  
Nayru: Your choices are:  
  
1) The Dog Race!  
  
2) The Cooking Contest!  
  
3) A Day In The Life Of Mary!  
  
Xiao: Review please! 


	20. The Truth Is Out! No Need For This Right...

Story Of A Girl

Nayru: And now, to answer some questions you all may be asking.

Xiao: Why hasn't this been updated?

Nayru: Simple; I've been busy. I do have other projects; currently writing an original story that I someday aspire to publish, and all the practice writing (but don't concern yourselves with that; if you must know, ask and I'll explain next chapter). I am still a teenager in high school; I took the PSATs on Wednesday (the 13th of October). Also, like many writers, I sometimes just don't have the inspiration. Also, this was meant to be posted on the 15th. Due to Xiang hating me, I got punished.

Ran-Ran: Are there always going to be six month breaks between new chapters?

Nayru: No. There will not. But, one of the big reasons I wait is because I love reader input, and I like letting you guys decide what I do. My current problem with this chapter; I got four reviews. One didn't vote. The other three... all voted for something different.

Xiao: So, what are you going to do?

Nayru: I admit I left holes in the other chapter, holes that I'm going to fill now. And then, you'll get to vote again.

Ran-Ran: So, why are you still making your muses ask you these dumb questions and not getting the hell on with it?

Nayru: .... I'm getting to it. Oh, and if you want to see an increase in activities, American voters, REMEMBER do your part as an American citizen and VOTE! Swear to god, if Kerry wins, I will go on a freaking SPREE of happiness-updates. But... Don't let StAG dictate your votes. If you want to vote Bush, or even Nader, I will still update. I just won't be as happy. It sucks to not be able to vote.

Xiao: And one more thing; since Nayru is sick of warnings, the interactivity is now gone. However, she always welcomes e-mailed suggestions. She plans on switching to for some of her stories very soon. She is pissed too, so forgive her. HEAR THAT, XIANG! SHE JUST TOOK OUT HER FAVORITE PART OF THIS JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO LIFE!

DISCLAIMER: Nayru Moon (and her imaginary muses) do NOT endorse any political campaign, as Nayru is not a registered voter. DO NOT flame her on her personal political views. With this said, Nayru is poor and only owns copies of all the Harvest Moon games past HM64, which she recieved for her 13th and 14th birthdays. Rae is hers, as are any characters you do not recognize from the game. Enjoy.

Chapter 20: The Truth Is Out! "No Need For This Right Now"!

Rae was in a complete daze. It had been about twelve hours since Ezra had been handed to Cliff, sniffling and wailing softly. It was about seven in the morning. Cliff had already done his and Rae's chores. He didn't have to bother watching everyone work; they were all crowded around him, Kai, and the three newborns. They'd all been brought out for a miniature baby parade the second everyone had finished their work; which took surprisingly less time than usual. Ezra was wearing a pink hat with bunny ears, but a lock of gold-brown hair escaped it. Her pink baby body was in an all-pink crawler (as Rae had called it when she'd bought it- it just looked like footy pajamas to Cliff). Rhamiel and Gabriel were in identical blue crawlers, but Rhamiel had a dark blue hat, and Gabriel, a sky blue cap, and each wore an ID bracelet.

"Look, Ezzy's yawning!" Mary giggled eagerly, pointing as Ezra, indeed, yawned like a bear. Mary and Gray were to be married in a week by a Justice of the Peace. They both agreed to have three children; one girl, one boy, and whatever the gods chose then. Mary was fascinated by babies, and she cooed happily at each baby's every move.

"Well, yeah, babies yawn..." Ann nodded. She was not as entranced with the little ones as most of the others on the farm; however, Rick, her fiance, was. Since her bad 'experience' when she was younger (see chapter 14) with Cliff, she'd had no intention of having children.

"But it was a cute yawn!" Popuri protested. Harris nodded in agreement. Rae's grandmother was interestedly peering over their shoulders to see the little newborns, not speaking, but smiling interestedly. Several other townspeople curiously crowded around. The thought of three babies in one day was definitely news in a small town with a population barely over thirty. Karen's mother was holding Rhamiel at the moment, and Cliff's grandfather was holding Ezra in his lap. It was almost a Norman Rockwell painting, absolutely picturesque. Cliff could only stare in wonderment at the strange sense of unity he felt, as thirty people crowded around his and Rae's baby daughter, fascinated with her perfect creation. Nothing could ruin this moment, it seemed, yet one thing actually could.

"Is that ALL you dragged me here for?!" Grumbled an annoyed, snotty male voice; John Ginram, Rae's father. Lily, his fiancee followed him. Through the fifteen minutes Cliff had known the man, he'd despised everything about him; the way he spoke of his family, his lack of compassion, right down to the damn annoying side-part of his hair. Now, he strode into the crowd, coolly staring at baby Ezra. The chatter had silenced, the group parted. Cliff's grandfather watched in slight disgust, hidden by a mop of shaggy brown hair (which he'd quickly tossed into his face the moment John had approached) as John picked Ezra up, out of his mother's arms. Ezra was unaware, her dreamy blue eyes only halfway open. John scowled at her. Lily actually smiled slightly.

"It's almost cute. If only she.... If only..." She couldn't finish. There was nothing even a snob like Lily could criticize.

"If only she were not born of trash and to be raised by trash. Cute now, but she'll grow up a filthy child, and be a filthy person-" John began to grumble angrily.

"At least I plan to raise my daughter." Cliff growled. There were tiny titters of awe.

"I had a job, a life, I had no time for a brat. She didn't want to learn business, the real world, she wanted to play!" He simpered the last word mockingly. Continuing in this tone, he continued to sneer, "Oh, just a widdle giwl, wants to pway wif dollies and balls and little kiddie games!" He then smirked nastily, and hissed in a vile tone, "I figured that I'd have it much easier if I didn't have to play and read stupid little story books to a brat who's only idea of thanks were 'I love you, daddy.'"

"When my daughter looks at me and says, 'I love you, daddy', I will be a proud man!" Cliff was now yelling, unable to control the level of his voice. "It tells me that I showed my daughter love, that she learned that word, and she said it to me because she felt it for me! It tells me that I did well! When my daughter tells me she loves me, I will never want for thanks or praise. That would be all I'd ask of her!" Cliff was moving towards John, he could feel himself quivering. People were starting to back away from Cliff, nervous.

"Cliff, nothing rash!" Kai warned.

"Cliff, calm down, he's a jackass!" Ann insisted.

"He doesn't know what it is to be a father!" Grey added.

"And he's still holding your baby!" Mary gasped.

"Cliff, sit down! I have no need for this right now!" Everyone whirled around, to see Rei in sweatpants and a loose T-shirt. She strode towards John, claimed Ezra, which he didn't defend against (as he was too flustered to do so), and walked back towards Cliff. "All I'm hearing is yelling. Stop yelling."

"Your father just said he abandoned you because-"

"I heard what he said, Cliff.... and I'm sorry he feels that way. You forget... I haven't seen him in fifteen years. I could really care less about what he thinks of me, or why he left me here. The final word is.... he's not my father. I owe him nothing." John seemed shocked at these statements.

"I am your father, young lady, when I say jump, you ask 'How high?!'" John insisted.

"But I'm not jumping. I'm taking my daughter in and going back to sleep." Rae smiled coolly. "See that he leaves in the right direction." She walked back inside, calm and collected, still carrying the tiny baby. Cliff sighed euphorically, as though it was a great release.

"The road out is that way." He pointed to the path off the farm. John scowled angrily, and dragged Lily out. There were a few seconds of silence. Rae's grandmother watched her only son walk off, practically banished. Everyone slowly turned to her.

Old Karen was quiet. She didn't like much to be noticed. She baked the croissants that was given away for breakfast on Sundays, she made the icing on cakes and glaze for pies, she sat in her rocking chair near the cow's pasture, enjoying her twilight years. She and Rae talked seldom, despite living so close, yet Rae would sit with her, watching the two cows graze with her. Old Karen had a soul. As that man walked away from her without a hello or goodbye, she smiled.

"About time someone talked to him." She stated calmly. "If only I'd tried the day Rae was born. Sad though.... that he should call her 'just a girl,' when clearly, she is much more."

Rae and Cliff sat together on the roof late that night.

"I guess this means we won't be able to do as much." Cliff sighed slightly.

"No... all it means is we have one more responsibility. We can have it all, because we are who we are." Rae chirped thoughtfully.

"Then we will have it all, indeed." Cliff nodded.

"So, what of all will we do next time?" Rae asked.

"Well, I figured we could do a 'day in the life of' featurette, showing the non-average daily life of one of our less mentioned workers, a cooking contest, or a dog race." Cliff explained.

"Sounds good. Make a wish, Cliffy!" Rae smiled. "And we'll see you guys next time on Story of a Girl!"

TO BE CONTINUED.... (soon)

Xiao: With this said, REVIEW!!


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